Obsidian Tears
by RurikoTsukuyomi
Summary: Team Ito is plunged into the real world of ninjas, finding friends and lovers, but there's the shadow of an enemy sitting in wait. Can this generation of shinobi take him down or will it be too late? Rated safely OC SUBMISSIONS CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome to my new Naruto fan fiction, mwahahaha :D**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! Masashi Kishimoto does. I only own the following characters:**

**Nakamura Clan**

**Kosuke no Akumu**

**Sujiyama Clan**

**Kuroshiyo Ito**

**The five spies O:**

**Warnings: I should probably just warn you all ahead of time that this will be violent and full of gore and there may be deaths as well as very naughty language, some kissy scenes, and randomness. Yup! So beware ;)**

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Chapter One: **Team Ito Intro! The First Real Mission!**

_THWACK!_

The familiar sound of a hand smacking into a cloth covered head didn't go unnoticed by the people crowded on the lovely streets of Konohagakure that fine spring morning, the sun shining brightly and the clouds drawn onto the blue sky as if by a paint brush.

"Ow!" A raven-haired boy barked, clasping his hands over his head after the hood of his black yukata-looking cloak fell off to reveal his disheveled hair and a bump swelling atop his cranium. A stern looking Jounin with swept over navy blue hair and a single piercing gold eye (as the other was covered with gauze) stood over him, his fingerless gloved fists on his hips.

"All right, that's enough out of you, Kosuke. Your attitude is starting to really aggravate me. You obviously haven't grown up at all since your Genin test." The sensei chided in annoyance, not at all amused by the Genin he had just smacked. Kosuke scowled at his sensei, glaring at him with deep crimson eyes, shadowed underneath, before he jerked his hood back up. He said nothing, but his mahogany-haired teammate flashed him a toothy grin as she winked a silver eye at him.

"Haha, that's what you get, you selfish jerk. You and Ninigi argue more than a married couple." She teased as she flipped her shoulder length hair over her shoulder, the blue winged hair pin in her hair glittering in the sunlight. Kosuke glared at her now, but continued to bit his tongue to keep from making another comment that would get him smacked again.

And of course, there was the fact that Kosuke couldn't help, but like his female teammate, just a little bit. Her hair was shiny and soft, her eyes sharp and watchful, a playful smirk almost always on her face. She looked great in her long, closed navy jacket with only the left sleeve, which hung past her fingertips; a black turtleneck underneath matching leggings that went into black strapped navy legwarmers over her shins. A pair of navy ninja shoes finished her attire, her headband on her left sleeve. While Kosuke took the time to admire her, he completely forgot about his white-haired teammate, the cause of all his squad problems.

"Ew, gross! I think I rather kiss your summoning of foxes than him!" The icy-eyed boy retorted in disgust. Kosuke twitched and whirled to face his teammate, thrusting a finger in his fist, his elbow bent.

"Shut your mouth, Ninigi! No one would kiss you, not even your mother!" He snapped in annoyance. Ninigi blushed in embarrassment and gritted his teeth, clenching his fists. It was very hard to be frightened of Ninigi as he was very childish in appearance. His white hair was styled in loose locks toward the middle of his face, his eyes a cold blue. He wore a dark green elbow-length jacket with a hood, a mesh shirt underneath and black pants stuffed into shin-high teal ninja boots. His headband was green, tied around his waist with ends that almost touched the ground, and fingerless gloves -save for the two middle fingers- finished his clothes. He could've carried the huge sword that his brother, Fukuo, had, but even that wouldn't make Ninigi look scary.

"Aw, gonna cry?" Kosuke mocked, reaching up to rub his eyes dramatically. Ninigi was red with rage and their female teammate groaned, throwing her head back and looking over at their sensei, who had turned back to the shop owner to order their meal.

"Ito-sensei, Ninigi's gonna snap." She warned. Just the sound of the complaint made the muscular Jounin twitch in annoyance. He looked at the old man, holding up a finger before he turned and grabbed the backs of Kosuke and Ninigi's heads, slamming them together. They both yelled in pain, clasping their heads. Ito turned back around calmly, handing his money to the old man, who shakily took it with a little smile, closing his squinty eyes behind his wire rimmed glasses.

"Why'd ya have to go do that, Amaya?" Ninigi whined, cringing as he held his head tightly over a lump that formed. Amaya let a smile grow across her lips as her eyes became half-lidded in amusement, her hands folding behind her back.

"Because. I needed a distraction." She replied honestly. Ninigi blinked, gaping at her as he dropped a hand from his head. Kosuke smirked a bit past the throbbing pain in his head as he watched Amaya thrust out a clenched fist before letting it fly open, a chain link necklace slipping out and dangling from a finger.

"And the great Amaya strikes again." Kosuke stated, folding his arms over his chest as if he were proud of his teammate. He couldn't help, but painfully admit that Amaya had the greatest stealth skills of their generation. Ninigi, however, scowled a bit, making a grab for the necklace, but Amaya jerked it back up into her fist and dropped it down her shirt, staring at Ninigi. He turned red, but didn't make a grab for it, his eye twitching in annoyance.

"I can't believe you did that. Who's is it?" Ninigi asked with a scolding frown. Amaya rose an eyebrow, puckering her lips comically in a look of refusal. Ninigi glared, but he found it hard as Amaya was pretty good at making him want to grin. She was comical and a glass half-full kind of girl, just what a guy would want.

If only she wasn't a kleptomaniac, stealing whatever happened to catch her eye, which sucked since she liked shiny things.

"What would your brother say, huh? And your parents? Your mom would be upset if she found out." Ninigi warned, putting a fist on his hip. Amaya slowly frowned as the thought seemed to disappoint her. Kosuke glared at Ninigi, elbowing him harshly in the ribs and rolling his eyes as Ninigi flinched, grasping his ribcage.

"Don't be such a downer, loser. Takuma's not here and neither are her parents. Ito should've been watching her, but he wasn't." He stated confidently.

"Watching what now?" Ito asked as he turned with the plastic bags of food. Ninigi immediately forgot about Amaya's wrongdoing, his stomach growling and his mouth watering so he drooled, his hands grasping for the bags hungrily. Ito rolled his eye and pulled the bags away.

"Hey. We're going to find somewhere to eat this, not chow down in the middle of the street, fool. Kosuke, come on. Amaya, put that necklace back."

"What? How did you know?" Amaya cried in disbelief, Kosuke cocking a brow at their sensei, who glanced at her with a flat expression.

"A ninja never shows off their prize. Now give it back." He commanded. Amaya groaned and turned to the old man, who blinked and stared at her as she dropped the necklace back on the counter, turning away and running to catch up with Ito and her teammates. The old man stared after her in confusion, scratching his partially bald head.

Moments later, the squad found themselves sitting in a semi-circle at the training grounds, the green grass gently billowing in the breeze. Amaya bit into her onigiri, leaning back on one hand and smiling up at the sky.

"It's such a great day! Ne, sensei, do we have any missions today?" She asked eagerly, watching Ito gulp down some barbeque chicken. He paused, staring at his rice dully before looking up.

"Hm, well, there's a couple. One is cleaning Old Lady Takako's house and another is helping the owner of Ichiraku move some noodle boxes into a cart to send to Sunagakure…."

"Are you kidding me?" Ninigi demanded angrily, slamming his ramen cup down in the grass, sloshing some pork out. Ito cocked a brow, pursing his lips a bit. Kosuke grimaced, closing his eyes and pulling his hood over his face more.

"I hate to agree with the brat, but he's right. Come on, Ito, we're ninja, not servants. We want _real_ missions, not these fake-o loser jobs." He muttered, bringing his parfait up to his lips to drink the strawberry jelly. Ito frowned at him, then looked at Ninigi, who was just nodding and folding his arms over his chest. Ito looked at Amaya, who was staring at Kosuke in surprise.

"And what do you think about this, Amaya?" He asked calmly. Amaya blinked, then looked up and shrugged.

"Couldn't care less, sensei, although, they are kinda right… I mean, my dad took me to one of my uncles' house before and the servants were cleaning and stuff while the shinobi guarded the place." She explained, then shrugged again as if she had nothing else to say. Ito turned back to his meal, bringing a bit of tofu to his mouth, taking a bite, then looking at them.

"Hmph," He lifted the corner of his mouth in a look of distaste, his nose crinkling and brow furrowing in a brown, "A real mission, impossible."

"What?" Kosuke and Ninigi demanded in unison, glaring at each other for it, then back at Ito, who kept the look on his face as he glared at his Genin team.

"Give you cocky rodents a real mission? Yea, right. If I wanted to plunged us into another shinobi war, sure. You guys can't even keep peace amongst yourselves, let alone the shinobi world. No, you won't be getting any real missions until A) The boys stop arguing. B) The girl stops stealing. And C) When Kosuke starts calling me _sensei_." Ito responded sternly, holding up three fingers as he listed. Ninigi glared at his sensei, but said nothing while Amaya shifted uncomfortably, averting her eyes and taking sudden interest in pulling out the grass. Kosuke twitched angrily, clenching his fists on his knees.

"Call you sensei? Call _you_ sensei? Over my mangled, rotting corpse would I ever even _think_ of you as my sensei!" He shouted. Amaya stared at him while Ninigi rolled his eyes, throwing his hands up before scowling at his teammate.

"Are you stupid? That's just the real we can't go on real missions, dumbass!"

"Oh, shut up, Ninigi, you're as much a problem as Amaya and I are!"

"Hey, wait a second!" Amaya protested with a pout, folding her arms over her chest, but she didn't even try to jump in as Ninigi and Kosuke threw insults back and forth. Amaya let her head bounce back and forth between them comically while Ito continued eating calmly, his eye focused on the noodles he slurped up with chicken.

And that was a normal lunch for Team Ito.

The team moved on through the day on the normal missions. Ito sat back in a tree above the ramen shop, a book on the history of shogi in his hand when beside him, a cloud of smoke swirled to reveal a brunette Chuunin with a scar slashed across his nose, his eyes a bit worried.

"Excuse me, Ito-sensei?" The Chuunin asked. Ito looked up, tilting his head back.

"Hm? Iruka-sensei. What a surprise. How may I entertain you today?" He asked. Iruka tried to smile, but it failed epically, making Ito frown a bit and snap his book shut. The Chuunin shifted a little bit before sighing.

"We've got a situation. It seems we've run out of teams to send out on missions and your team was the only one not on important duties. Is it possible that after this mission you meet Lady Tsunade in her office?" He asked. Ito nodded, then studied Iruka closely.

"Hm, you've grown up since I last saw you… When did you become a Chuunin?" He questioned, cocking a brow. Iruka tried not to blush in embarrassment and annoyance, his eye twitching a little bit as he forced a little smile on his face.

"Ah, a while ago, Ito-sensei."

"Hm. I should probably get out more often then." Ito turned back to his book, flipping it open. Iruka resisted the urge to reply with 'I'll say' and merely nodded, turning around and shooting off through the village. Ito looked at his book, but his eye wasn't following the words anymore, but peeking past to look down at his students with narrowed irritation.

Down below, Ninigi lugged another crate of noodles onto the cart, groaning in exhaustion and the sores that formed under his gloves. He turned and sank to his rump on the ground, his back running along the side of the crate.

"This is stupid! I don't want to do these dumb missions, they're not even helping us become good shinobi! How're we gonna use these skills to fight in the Chuunin Exams in June? Throw noodles and clean their mouths out?" He groaned, throwing his head back against the cart with a scowl on his face. Kosuke stepped away from another crate, wiping the back of his hand along his forehead and frowning as he folded his arms on the edge, resting his chin on them.

"Chuunin Exams. Forget about those. Ito might even sign us up for them." He muttered bitterly. Amaya massaged her hands together, glancing at her teammates with a cocked brow.

"What kind of attitude is that? No wonder Ito-sensei gets pissy with you two. If we just follow the rules he told us, we'll be in those exams in no time, coming out as Chuunin!" She insisted.

"And by rules, you mean the ones that should apply to you, but you can ignore since you're special?" Kosuke asked dryly. Amaya stared at him as innocently as possibly, batting her lashes, earning her a glare. Ninigi rolled his eyes and rested his chin in his palm, wincing at the sores.

"This is unbelievable. We all need to follow what he said. I'll stop arguing if you two quit starting it." He stated, nodding confidently now as he folded his arms over his chest, his eyes closed before they opened to see two pairs of eyes glaring at him. He muttered a 'what' before Amaya shook her head.

"Well, I don't know about you two, but I actually might try to stop borrowing people's things without permission. I want to be as good as my brother, not to mention I want my dad to brag about me too, so I want to go to these exams." She said with a serious frown as she lifted another crate with a wince. Kosuke and Ninigi shared looks, then looked back at Amaya as she stumbled a bit. It was as if Kosuke barely moved as he quickly helped her balance, leaning back again. Amaya nodded a thanks and put the crate in the cart, turning away for another.

"You know, Ito-sensei never said we had to act like that all the time." Ninigi said suddenly, making his teammates look at him quizzically.

"What do you mean?" Amaya asked. Ninigi stood up slowly, glancing at Ito, who seemed to be reading his book silently with a lazy expression, one leg hanging off a branch while the other was folded underneath him, an arm on his knee and the other holding his book.

"Those rules, about Kosuke and I fighting," Ninigi whispered to them, "And about you stealing. Kosuke not calling him sensei. Maybe we can just _act_ like we're doing it until the Chuunin Exams and go back to doing what we do." Amaya blinked.

"That's perfect!" She exclaimed.

"Yea, she's great at lying. See?" Kosuke said. Amaya pouted and Ninigi rolled his eyes, then went on.

"It'll suck for a bit, but we'll just pretend we've turned over a new leaf. I'll stop arguing with you, Kosuke, and Amaya, stop stealing people's stuff."

"Hey, don't call it stealing," Amaya complained, stomping a foot indigenously, "Call it borrowing without permission."

"What a mouthful." Kosuke retorted, earning a quick glare from Amaya. Ninigi rolled his eyes, then folded his arms over his chest.

"I'm not worried about Amaya or myself, Kosuke. It's you I'm worried about." He muttered. Kosuke scowled at him, his red eyes piercing him angrily.

"Just what do you mean by that?" He demanded in aggravation. Ninigi snorted in disbelief while Amaya smirked, averting her eyes from Kosuke, who sent a quick glance of curiosity.

"Isn't it obvious? You've got way too much pride to call Ito-sensei your sensei."

"And?"

"Kosuke, haven't you been listening to a single thing Ninigi has said?" Amaya demanded, putting a hand on her hip and glaring at Kosuke, who merely shrugged carelessly.

"As if I care." He responded. Ninigi twitched angrily and went to hit him, but Amaya stepped between them in a flash, snatching Ninigi's fist and shoving it at his chest, frowning.

"Come one, Ninigi. You have to try too!" She scolded. Ninigi stared at her, then slowly relaxed, but he didn't stop glaring at Kosuke, who was staring at Amaya like she was an alien from outer space. It made Ninigi curious as to why Kosuke seemed to always look at Amaya like that.

"Kosuke," Amaya said calmly, turning to Kosuke, who stiffened and glared at her in an attempt to seem scary, but his trick never worked on her, he noticed, "You have to call Ito-sensei your sensei. I know you don't like it, but honestly? Ito-sensei's experienced a lot of things in life and he's a lot stronger, at Jounin level while we're still just Genin. He deserves some respect." Ninigi frowned as Kosuke's expression seemed to twist into a rare look of utter disbelief and anger.

"Experienced a lot of things! Bullshit! He's a lazy asshole, who doesn't even do missions of his own and takes some of the pay for the ones that WE completed on our own without any of his help, just him sitting up there like a fucking bum! Experience! At least-At least…!" Kosuke couldn't even finish as he sputtered incoherent curses. Amaya stared at him and Ninigi scowled, shifting behind Amaya.

"Forget him. He's nothing special. Maybe if just us two behave Ito-sensei might consider letting us join the exams." The white-haired Genin muttered bitterly. Kosuke clenched his teeth and fists, his red eyes hot with rage. Amaya flinched a little, then looked at Kosuke a with a little sympathy.

"I'm sorry, Kosuke, I chose the wrong words… Everyone experiences different things, but I'm sure sensei knows what it's like to lose someone close to him." She offered, but Kosuke just shook his head vigorously, refusing to speak. Amaya sighed and Ninigi pulled her away so they went back to work, leaving Kosuke to silently fume.

Meanwhile up in his tree, Ito was watching the entire thing, his ears picking up every bit of the plan and events. He felt a brow lift in amusement, his lips drawing together as he pondered their little plan, whether to expose it or not… And what exactly was going on inside little Kosuke's head.

_He's definitely an interesting one… He's the most curious of all the Genin with nothing in his biography of how he was orphaned or what happened to his clan, if he had one. All that's known about him is that jutsu of his… And that he's a disrespectful little cockroach with an attitude problem. How entertaining._ The navy-haired Jounin thought, letting his expression melt back into a flat look as he closed his book, rising to his feet.

"All right," He called down to them, "Break for lunch, then meet me at the Hokage's residence. You brats might just get the mission you've been waiting for." He was actually a little pleased to see three pairs of eyes light up like light bulbs at the news before he made a hand sign, disappearing in a poof of smoke that swirled around him like a mini-tornado.

"A mission? Like, a real one?" Ninigi managed to awe. Amaya beamed, jumping up and down for a moment.

"Yes! This is awesome! We can prove to Ito-sensei on this mission that we're mature enough to join the exams!" She exclaimed eagerly. Kosuke frowned a little, then smirked as he folded his arms over his chest.

"Che. All we have to do is pass this mission without fail. We won't even have to play his stupid rules." He stated confidently with a nod.

"This is going to be easy!" Ninigi declared as he thumped his fist on his chest, then stopped with a blink. He reached into his jacket and fished around, then glared at Amaya, who was looking at the place where Ito had vanished.

"Amaya, give me back my money!"

"What're you talking about? I didn't take anything!"

"You can't play innocent with me!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Amaya cried insistently, although, Kosuke stared flatly at the hands she had behind her back, holding a small little navy pocketbook with a handsome some of money peeking out. Kosuke looked back at his arguing teammates, then at the wallet and merely shrugged. He reached forward, slipping a bill from the wallet just in time before Amaya thrust it back at Ninigi with a huff.

"I don't see why you'd need to rip people off," Ninigi snorted as he went through the pocketbook with a scowl, "Your dad's pretty popular and so his family." Amaya lifted a brow, pursing her lips.

"So? That doesn't mean my dad gives me allowance or anything."

"Hey! There's money missing."

"What?" Amaya demanded. Ninigi glared at her, shoving the pocketbook into his jacket again and folding his arms tightly over his chest.

"I said don't play your innocent game with me. You could've asked and I _might've_ let you have something!" He snapped. Amaya blushed lightly, clenching her fists.

"I'm telling you, I didn't take it! I swear on my mother's grave I didn't!"

"Wait until your mother hears that."

"Ninigi! I swear-"

"You guys are both losers." Kosuke stated as he stood between them now, his arms folded and a bill hanging between two of his fingers in one hand. Amaya blinked, cocking her head before beaming and pointing at it.

"Look! Kosuke found your missing money! See, I told you I didn't take anything." She said with a confident nod. Kosuke smirked while Ninigi twitched and snatched his cash back, shoving it into his pocketbook before flashing Kosuke a deadly glare.

"You're going to be the death of this team, you jerk!" He snapped. Kosuke shrugged, then averted his eyes as if he had nothing else to say on the topic. After another argument, the boys followed Amaya to a dango shop just a couple blocks away near the apartments.

The shop was relatively small with a triangular orange banner with the name DANGODANGO printed on the front in black. Several stools sat at the counter while off to the left was a small tent with chairs and tables, a couple customers seated in that area. The team hopped onto three of the stools at the counter, Amaya reaching up and flicking her fingers into a black and orange wind chime, making it jingle.

"Coming, honey!" A voice called from the back. Amaya beamed and settled down while Ninigi cocked a brow at her.

"How does she know that's you?" He asked. Amaya shrugged and pointing a finger up at the chimes.

"She doesn't. It could be my brother. We're the only ones that hit that thing when we come here." She answered. Ninigi thought about it and Kosuke just rolled his eyes before they looked up as a woman came from the back of the shop. Her two toned, red and orange short hair was tied back in a side ponytail to the right, her silver eyes bright and excited. She wore a navy dress with elbow-length sleeves and a black/orange designed apron.

"Amaya! It's good to see you stopping by for lunch. Hello, boys." She smiled. Ninigi grinned and waved goofily while Kosuke just sat there uncomfortably. Amaya smirked at them, then leaned on the counter watching her mother pull out a few paper bags for their lunches.

"Hey, mama! Guess what? We might be getting a real mission today, not one of those lame-o boring ones!" She exclaimed excited, clasping her hands and bouncing them up and down on the counter. Her mother turned, blinking.

"Is that so? I hope it's nothing too dangerous. Your brother's birthday is next month and you have to be energized to celebrate. He doesn't know about the party either." She winked and Amaya grinned. Ninigi blinked.

"Takuma's birthday is coming up?" He asked. Amaya nodded as she picked up a toothpick from a little fox statue that was holding them out.

"Yup, May 18th! I'm so excited because I want to give him the best present ever and we're gonna surprise him with a party. You guys should come." She declared with a smile and Ninigi beamed.

"That sounds like fun! I'll be there!" He agreed, then looked at Kosuke, who was mindlessly staring off into space before he was elbowed. Kosuke blinked, flashed Ninigi a quick glare, then looked at Amaya, who stared at him with twinkling silver eyes. Sometimes he wondered if the gods plucked stars from the midnight sky and put them in her eyes, then he mentally smacked himself for even pondering the thought before shrugging.

"Yea. Sure, why not? I have nothing better to do." He replied flatly, then looked over to see Amaya's mother placing their paper bags of food in front of them, a smile on her face. She reached out and flicked Kosuke's hood back to ruffle up his hair, making him visibly blush pink with embarrassment while Amaya and Ninigi snickered.

"That'd be lovely, Kosuke! Oh, why must you always put that hood of yours up? You're such a handsome young shinobi! I bet all the girls are chasing you down." She teased with a wink and dimpled smile. Kosuke turned red as Ninigi laughed.

"Ahaha, oh yea. Kosuke's definitely got girls lined up to see him," He agreed, then leaned over to Amaya and whispered, "Girls that plan to beat his sorry ass."

"I heard that!" Kosuke snapped, then jerked his hood back over his head as Amaya's mother pulled her hand away with a little smile.

"You guys behave and good luck on your mission!" She called as they hopped off the stools with their lunches.

"Thanks, mama! Tell daddy and Takuma I said hi!" Amaya called back.

"See ya later, Lady Nakamura!" Ninigi waved as he walked backwards with a crooked grin, Kosuke merely rolling his eyes and glancing at Mrs. Nakamura.

"Bye, Ai." He said, making Amaya's mother blink, then smile a bit sadly. The team departed, eating their lunch on the way to the Hokage's residence. After tossing out the bags, they went up the steps and inside past a few wandering Chuunin and Jounin to find Ito standing in the archway to he hallway that led to the Hokage's office. He was just eating the last dumpling off a dango stick before he flicked it away, looking up.

"About time. You guys think you have all the time in the world." He sighed.

"Sorry, sensei." Ninigi and Amaya apologized in unison while Kosuke just snorted, folding his arms over his chest stubbornly. Ito merely shook his head and led the way up the hallway before they approached the Hokage's office. Ito gave it a knock only once before a woman's voice yelled:

"ENTER!"

Ito glanced at his team, who flinched at the barbarically loud response, then looked back at the door as he pushed it open, trying not to smile. _I'm going to enjoy this meeting._ He thought as his gold eye landed on two lovely ladies inside. One of which was the Hokage, seated in her chair with her legs crossed and a file folder in her hands, her long blonde pigtails brushed back and her hazel eyes locked on the papers in front of her. The second woman was a brunette wearing a purplish yukata, holding a wiggling pig in her arms.

"Lady Tsunade," Ito greeted, nodding to her, then looked at Shizune with a look that surprised his students, "Miss. Shizune." Said kunoichi blushed a little and averted her eyes innocently, taking a sudden interest in the pig's ears.

"Hm, Kuroshiyo Ito," Tsunade mused, glancing at him with a cocked brow of suspicion, "I haven't seen you around a lot lately. I'm sure these kids were giving you a hard time, weren't they?" Ito stared at her and the faintest sign of a smile was on his face as he lowered it slightly to look past his hair.

"Indeed. You seem to enjoy torturing me. I never quite pegged you to be a sadist." He responded and the playful tone of his voice made his students stared at him in disbelief.

_THIS is Ito-sensei around other adults?_ Amaya thought in surprise, trying to keep her jaw clenched shut. Ninigi didn't care and let his jaw fall right open, his icy blue eyes wide.

_DUDE. He's so flirting with them! BOTH OF THEM! EVEN OLD GRANDMA TSUNADE! What gives?_ He wondered in disbelief before jerking his jaw back up and shaking his head. Kosuke just made a face of disgust, taking a step away from his sensei.

"Ito-sensei," Tsunade drawled, a smirk spreading across her face, "Mind if I torture you some more?"

"Go ahead." Ito replied. Tsunade nodded, then rose to her feet and threw the file folder onto her desk, papers splaying out to reveal five mug shots and profiles. Ito cocked a brow as he looked at them, then the Hokage, who took on a serious expression now as she put a fist on her desk, another on her hip.

"Spies. All five of them. They were spotted leaving our village last night and headed for that outpost town. We sent a team after them, but they haven't returned, so we can only assume the worst. Seeing as there are no teams available right now for deployment, I'm going to ask you and your team to see to it that these five are brought back, dead or alive." She informed. Ito nodded, reaching out and picking up the files, scanning them at the same time as Shizune picked up on where Tsunade left off.

"All five of them are criminals that escaped during the attack on Konohagakure by Orochimaru. Three of them are native here, one is from Kirigakure and the other from Sunagakure. All five are relatively dangerous. We understand that it's uncommon for Genin teams to be sent on such a mission, but this is an emergency and we can't have those spies returning to Orochimaru with information on our village." Shizune explained firmly with a nod. Ito folded up the copies of the profiles, tucking them into his weapon's pouch.

"Hm, seems more like an easy task. Even if these three do end up incapacitated." He told the Hokage, who chuckled lightly. Shizune flinched and looked at the three Genin, who seemed pretty annoyed by the comment, save for the girl, who just rocked back and forth on her heels, as if this was wasting her time.

_They're just kids, maybe thirteen or fourteen. Is it really such a good idea to send them on a mission? Even with Ito-sensei… He's not the greatest babysitter._ She thought, glancing at the navy-haired sensei, who took a second to glance back at her. She blushed and looked away in annoyance.

_I can't tell what's worse about him. His personality or his jutsu._ She huffed and held onto TonTon, who oinked in agreement as if having read her thoughts.

"Remember," Tsunade told Ito sternly, pointing a finger at him, "Bring them back dead or alive as they may have some secrets on Orochimaru that we can use. Take care of your team, too, even if you don't want to." She added quietly. Ito looked at her, then nodded and turned.

"Let's scram. Come on, pick up your feet." He ordered his Genin, earning grumbled complaints from the boys and a whine from the girl. Tsunade and Shizune watched them go, frowning.

"You probably just signed their death warrant." Shizune said quietly, shifting away from Tsunade, who glanced at her out the corner of her eye, then back towards the empty doorway.

"That would be so if I hadn't of made Ito their sensei."

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**A/N: Phew. Okay, yes, I know, I shouldn't be writing another Naruto fan fiction until I finish all the others, but I just couldn't help myself. I really have some ideas for this one. And who knows? Maybe it'll give me ideas for my other Naruto ones :) And yes, there are new characters. YES, I would love to have your OCs join this if they would like, most would be appearing after this mission because I already have it planned it, but don't worry, it's not incredibly long. So, yea, I think that's about it. Thanks so much for reading and your reviews are greatly appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Another chapter, mwahahaha, ow, my shoulder :P**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! Masashi Kishimoto does! I only own the following characters:**

**Nakamura Clan**

**Sujiyama Clan**

**Kosuke no Akumu**

**Kuroshiyo Ito**

**The spies O:!**

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Chapter Two: **The Pros and the Cons! The Meaning of a True Shinobi…**

Not an hour later was the team on the road now, headed for the outpost town at a running pace as the afternoon sun warmed the valley as if in a hurry for dark clouds were beginning to roll in from the west. It also didn't take long for the team to begin their daily chore of bickering while Ito tried his best not to abuse his Genin anymore than he already had.

_If I bash their heads together too often, I might just make whatever's left of their brains go flying._ He thought with a sigh, rolling his eye before looking up ahead to spot the outpost town. He commanded his team to halt, which they barely obeyed, but managed to eventually slow down to a walking pace behind their sensei as they approached. The sound of jolly music wavered around the town as well as the sweet scent of dango and barbeque curling in the air.

They walked in past the archway to see children running around and laughing, women dancing exotically and attracting large crowds, a couple men trying to swallow flaming swords. Ninigi stared in awe, his mouth popping open at the scenes.

"Wow, it's like a huge party here!" He exclaimed, eager to run around and play several of the games that were offering prizes. He also found himself hungrily drawn to an intense poker game, but Ito bopped him on the head harshly. Kosuke's red eyes were basically locked on one of the female dancers who kept thrusting her head back and winking at him. Ito jerked Kosuke's hood over his face, making the boy yelp angrily in distress. He opened his mouth to speak, but saw that Amaya had completely vanished.

"For crying out loud," He growled, "I'm not your babysitter, I'm your sensei. Where did Amaya go? Amaya?" He looked around the crowds while Ninigi yelled at the top of his lungs for his female teammate. Kosuke just went on staring at the dancers without a single amount of shame.

"I'm right here!" Ito whipped around to see Amaya beaming up at him like a little puppy dog, her hands clasped tightly behind her back. He had a strong feeling why she had vanished, but he didn't bother now because his eye locked on a familiar man who was weaving through the crowd, heading for a bar.

"All right," Ito snapped at them, making them look at him curiously at the serious tone in his voice, "I just saw one of the targets. I'm going to give you each a headset and for the love of the gods' do NOT break them or you'll be paying it with the money you get from this mission. You must take this seriously. These are dangerous criminals. I'm going to follow this guy into that bar, but you guys can't follow. I want you to stay here in the crowd and if you see one, gang up on him together. You can't fight them alone. If you need help, call me. I'll be there. Understood?" They all stared at him and nodded slowly, watching him pass out the headsets before vanishing through the thick crowd of people.

"Wow," Amaya murmured, as she clipped the strap around her neck, tapping the microphone, "Sensei looked serious. This must be a bigger mission than we thought." Ninigi nodded as he put a headphone in, a grin on his face before he folded his arms over his chest confidently.

"Yea, but that makes it even better! If we can pass this mission without getting hurt or anything, then sensei will _have_ to let us join the Chuunin exams!" He boosted. Kosuke glanced at them as he finished setting up his headset, pulling his hood back on.

"This is going to be easy," He muttered, "At least for me. I don't know about you two, especially you, Ninigi. With that attitude, you're gonna get yourself killed."

"Look who's talking, dumbass! Talking like you can hurt anyone you want. Cocky bastard." Ninigi scowled at him, clenching a fist. Amaya groaned and smacked her forehead, then put a hand on Ninigi's fist, lowering it.

"Come on, guys, this is exactly why sensei doesn't believe in us! We keep arguing about stupid things. Confidence is good to have and we need to use it. Now keep an eye out for these guys. The Hokage says they're dangerous." She advised, then let go and turned around, looking carefully through the crowd. Ninigi and Kosuke glared at each other for a while before letting their eyes scan the crowd.

Amaya toyed with the bracelet she'd ripped off one of the women in the crowd, rolling the pearl between her fingers. She knew she shouldn't of done it, but she couldn't help it because she knew her mother loved pearls. She sighed and tucked the bracelet into her weapons pouch before her eyes caught something.

A man was walking out of a shop, wearing what looked like a black ski mask over his face, but it came over his shoulders as well, a purple yukata with torn sleeves and a huge purple rope around his waist matching his pants and shoes. Without a doubt it was one of the spies. Amaya frowned, her silver eyes watching the man bobbing through the crowd down the street.

"Ninigi. Kosuke." She whispered, pointing. The boys looked up to where she was pointing, catching sight of the man. The three Genin nodded to one another before swerving through the crowd, making their way after the spy. They moved swiftly, splitting up with nods to one another to be cautious. Amaya managed to easily make her way between people, easily ducking under arms and sliding between bodies. She kept her narrowed silver eyes locked on the man that continued to walk down the street. She could see Ninigi out the corner of her eye, darting past people and keeping as low a profile as he could manage. She caught a flash of Kosuke taking to the rooftops before she locked her attention solely on the moving spy.

Her eyes flashed as the man seemed to move faster, darting into a nearby alley. Amaya moved faster, pressing a button on the headset around her neck.

"Kosuke. Ninigi. He's in the third alleyway on the right. Move now." She commanded. She got a pair of static scratched yeses before she shot into the alleyway, but just in time to dodge a flash of lightening. She yelped and pressed her back against the wall before whipping around to see the man facing her with his back to a dead end.

"They sent a little girl to capture us? What a joke!" He retorted and made a hand sign, sending another bolt of lightening that was successfully dodged. Amaya scowled at him and swung her thumb up, biting into it harshly to draw blood as she quickly drew a symbol on the ground, skidding back so the blood ran a line and she made a hand sign.

"Summoning! Twin Kitsune!" She yelled and stepped back as smoke exploded into the alley. The man winced and took a step back, glaring as he watched two orange and black foxes bolt from the smoke with sleek fast moving movements, a scroll in each of their mouths to match the ones hanging around their necks.

"Ichii, Nii, Attack!" Amaya commanded. Both foxes nodded and leapt forward, flinging their scrolls out across the ground, releasing a huge spray of senbon needles. The man cursed and swung his hand around, making a couple hand signs with his other. A curved wall of earth sprang forward, deflecting the needles. Amaya winced.

"Ichii, Nii!" She shouted, but it was hard to get their attention. She wondered for a moment why she even summoned the youngest of her summonings. The first one, Ichii, with the blue scroll around his neck lunged over the wall while Nii hissed at him for it, but Ichii ignored him and went behind the wall. There was a vicious snarling before Ichii came blasting through the earth wall, landing sprawled at his twin's feet. Nii growled low in his throat, looking up with gold eyes at as the man wiped blood from the scratches all over his torn ski mask.

"You ugly rotten thing…!" The man spat. Nii leapt forward and clamped his jaws around the man's wrist. The man flailed, barking out curses before he reached up with his free hand to touch something under his skin mask.

"Back up! Mao, I need back up!" He shouted. Amaya's eyes widened and she quickly touched her finger to her headset.

"Ninigi! Kosuke! Where are you two? I need help, he's calling in backup!" She snapped.

"I'm running as fast as I can," Ninigi's voice crackled through the set, "But this old lady won't freaking let me go! She keeps trying to sell me some stupid magazine subscription!"

"Beat her with her cane and get over here!"

"How rude." Ninigi deadpanned, but his voice crackled away. Amaya was worried when she received no word from Kosuke, but there was no time to worry as another man leapt over the wall at the end, kicking a snarling fox summoning away. Both burst into smoke, leaving Amaya alone with one badly scratched spy and his partner. The second man was wearing his headband on his forehead with the symbol for the sound on it, matching a navy vest, bare chest revealed, and a purple rope holding his black pants on.

"Backup? She's just a kid, idiot." He snapped at the first man with a scowl. The first man glared at him.

"She's a shinobi, idiot. She summoned… Foxes on me…" He grumbled. The second man rolled his eyes, then whipped around to face Amaya, who took a step back and didn't waste a moment, jerking up her left arm. She reached into her long sleeve and jerked on something, sounding a _twang_ as senbon shot out toward him. He pulled out a kunai, deflecting them quickly before bolting forward.

He was stopped when something shot out of the ground in front of him, a fist colliding with his jaw and sending him flying back. Amaya's eyes widened.

"Ninigi!" She exclaimed happily, rushing over to Ninigi's side. He wiped blood from his lower lip and brushed the dust off him, taking a quick glance at the hole in the ground in front of him before looking at Amaya.

"Are you all right? Where's Kosuke?" He asked, turning his eyes on the men that were glaring at him, the second one struggling to get up. Amaya frowned, clenching her fists.

"I'm fine, but I can't get a hold of Kosuke. He's not responding." She muttered and Ninigi rolled his eyes, scowling as he clenched his fists, ready for a fight.

"Well, whatever then. If he wants to hide out and take credit, let him. We have to get rid of this losers." He stated. Amaya stared at him, then nodded confidently and unhooked a pair of twin daggers from her weapons pouch, their obsidian blades reflecting the dimming sunlight as the dark clouds seemed to fill the sky, followed by the growling of thunder overhead.

The first man with the torn ski mask bolted for Amaya, whipping out his kunai. Amaya slashed one of the blades out in a flash, cutting the man across the cheek. He started slashed, but his blade cracked once it hit an X created by the daggers crossing in a block.

"You brat!" The man snapped at her and lunged forward to head butt her, but Amaya whipped around in a circle, bringing her foot around and kicking him in the side of the head before throwing her daggers up into the air, making a hand sign. The first man started to get up, then froze, lolling his head back as he slumped back to the ground, his eyes wide in a trance.

Ninigi had lunged forward, punching the ground and creating a fissure so the second man could fall in, but he managed to dodge it and rush forward. He made a hand sign and lightening shot in a zigzag pattern, striking Ninigi hard in the chest. He went flying backwards, skidding across the dirt. He coughed weakly, wincing, but he scrambled back to his feet, making a hand sign. Shadow clones swirled into place around him, several taking up battle positions. They all rushed forward, punching, kicking, and slashing at the second man, who easily took down all of them, but he stopped, glaring at the alleyway.

The boy was gone!

The second man whipped around for a second, then rushed forward to attack Amaya, who spun around with a gasp. Not seconds later did Ninigi pop from the hole in the ground, grabbing the man by his legs and bringing him down. The man yelled out some colorful curses when Ninigi kicked him hard in the chest, sending him slamming back into a building.

"Dangerous my butt," Ninigi retorted, "These guys were easy."

"And kind of stupid." Amaya admitted with a light shrug, thrusting her thumb at the dazed shinobi on the ground. The second man groaned and opened his eyes as he looked up toward the sky, which was then blocked out by a form appearing over the edge of the building. His eyes widened.

"Kosuke!" Amaya exclaimed, clasping her hands together and beaming. Ninigi flinched and glared at his male teammate.

Kosuke looked down over the edge of the building, straight down at the man with angry red eyes. He moved fast, his hands moving into a T as if to say 'time out' before they slid down together, clasping, save for his index fingers. He pointed them toward the man and narrowed his eyes. He could feel his own heart pounding in his chest, trying to escape the prison of ribs keeping it caged.

The man below shuddered and his eyes went wider before Kosuke thrust his hands apart, leaning away from the edge to make room for a large purple and black snake with gold eyes that hissed in laughter.

"You've failed me, Yoro," The snake hissed in a horrible raspy tone that anyone would recognize, "And now you're going to pay. The man, Yoro, screamed and scrambled to his feet, bolting for the end of the alley, but the snake moved faster. It plunged down, making Ninigi and Amaya yelp and jump out of the way. It shot forward, its jaws spread wide open to reveal razor sharp fangs and saliva dripping between them in strings. It closed its mouth over Yoro fully, crashing its jaws shut. There was muffled screaming before silence followed and the snake swallowed its prey, hissing and flicking its tongue out before turning slowly to glare at the Genin, who stiffened.

"Kosuke…!" Amaya cried, but when she looked up, Kosuke wasn't hanging over the building anymore and panic flooded her chest. Ninigi caught his breath, staring as the snake hissed, turning to face them.

"Hmmm, Genin… Such petty little Genin. Are you frightened of me? As you should be…" The snake hissed, narrowing its eyes and it lifted its head up, opening its mouth.

"Chya right," Ninigi yelled, clenching his fists and, if snake's could frown, this snake was indeed frowning, "I'm not scared of fucking snakes! And I'm not even close to being scared of Orochimaru, you sick fuck! Come here and let me tie you in a knot!"

"Ninigi!" Amaya warned, but Ninigi scowled at her.

"He's not real, Amaya. Well, yea, he is, but that's not the real Orochimaru. A) It's a giant snake. And B) It only has the voice of Orochimaru. Don't you know what Kosuke's Kekkei Genkai is?"

"Kekkei Genkai?" Amaya asked slowly and quietly. She'd heard about it, but never actually seen it put to use. She watched as Ninigi turned to face the giant hissing snake, his fists clenching tighter.

"Kosuke has the ability to pull out his opponent's greatest fears and make them a reality, well, most of the way. He can't very likely bring Orochimaru straight here, but he can duplicate him so he's a solid form. It's just not the original." He muttered bitterly. Amaya stared at him in disbelief, then looked at the snake as it hissed, opening its jaws and lunging forward.

Ninigi shoved Amaya to the side, jumping to the other side before he made a hand sign. A huge stalagmite shot from the ground and went straight through the snake's head, causing blood to splatter in a massive wave of rain at the same time the sky shook with thunder. Amaya gasped, her eyes squeezed shut as she scrunched herself up against a wall. She slowly reached up and wiped the blood from across her face, opening her eyes to see the mess.

Ninigi got up gradually, wincing as he shook the blood off him, wiping his face off with his jacket sleeve. He grimaced, shaking it off his sleeve as Amaya ran up to him, basically stained in blood as well.

"Kosuke! Where's Kosuke?" She asked worriedly. Ninigi frowned, scanning the alley, then looking up at the top of the building where they'd last seen their teammate. They shared looks quickly, then shot off the ground and onto the rooftop. Amaya winced and Ninigi only sighed. Kosuke was lying on his back, completely out and breathing quietly past his parted lips.

"He's asleep?" Amaya asked, confused. Ninigi grumbled, walking over and nudging Kosuke's ribcage with his foot before folding his arms tightly over his chest.

"He passed out, the jerk. I'm not carrying him! No way! He should've just jumped in like we did and not waste his time with that stupid jutsu of his. I hope he knows he can't use it for another 24-hours." He muttered, turning away. Amaya looked at him, a bit annoyed that he was being so self-centered, then got on her knees beside Kosuke, peering down at him. Sweat seemed to dot his forehead, his hood basically his pillow and his skin was extremely hot to the touch. Amaya pulled her hand away from him and looked up at Ninigi.

"Call for Ito-sensei then," She stated, "He said to call him and he'd be here." Ninigi groaned.

"But if we do that, Ito-sensei will see that Kosuke's out and then we'll probably end up failing and then we'll never make it to the Chuunin exams!" He protested. Amaya glared at him, folding her arms over her chest.

"Quite frankly, Ninigi, I care more about my teammate than _ever_ becoming a Chuunin." She retorted. Ninigi frowned, then rolled his eyes, turning away.

"Then why don't you call him?"

"Because, that guy cut the cord for my communicator when we were fighting."

"Ugh, all right, fine." Ninigi touched his fingers to the strap around his neck and started calling in while Amaya looked down at Kosuke. She frowned suddenly as his breathing seemed to pick up. His chest flew up and down quickly, gasping as if he was choking.

"N-Ninigi! Something's wrong with Kosuke!" She cried. Ninigi blinked, then whipped around and stared for a moment before clicking the button on his headset again.

"Sensei, hurry!" He exclaimed and dropped to his knees on Kosuke's other side. Kosuke's expression twisted into pain as he panted for air, sweating as heat filled his body and warming his cheeks. He squirmed a little, his head moving from side to side.

"Don't touch…. Don't touch…"

"What's he saying?" Amaya asked, leaning in. Ninigi frowned and leaned in too so both their ears hovered over Kosuke's mouth.

"It sounds like don't touch, but I don't get what he's talking about…" He mumbled.

"Do you think it has something to do with what happened to him and his family?" Amaya asked, intrigued as she leaned in closer. Ninigi pulled him back a bit with a little scowl.

"I'm as curious as you are, but it's none of our business."

"That's right." A voice stated. Amaya and Ninigi both yelped and jumped to their feet, whipping around to see Ito standing there, a couple scratches on him and his gauze pad ripped off his face, but his hair hiding the empty eye socket from view. Only a couple droplets of blood were on his clothing, but it definitely wasn't his by the pattern.

"S-Sensei. Is Kosuke going to be okay?" Amaya asked worriedly, although, she kept flicking her eyes at Ito's covered eye.

"He's unconscious." Ninigi stated stupidly, lowering his eyes. Ito nodded and walked over, bending down and curling his arms under Kosuke's twitching form. He lifted him up bridal style and turned to his Genin.

"You guys did well," He mused, his face deadpan, "But that you guys could've come out of this without a scratch and I still wouldn't let you join the Chuunin exams." Amaya and Ninigi stared at him in disbelief.

"What? But that's unfair!" Amaya protested.

"That's stupid," Ninigi snapped, "We matured a lot! We beat up two spies, leaving one alive to take back to the village and nobody got hurt! Sure, Kosuke's out of it, but he's not injured or anything! We have the right to join the exams-"

"Oh no," Ito interrupted, shaking his head before glancing up at the dark sky as thunder grumbled and droplets of rain began to fall, "It's a privilege to join the Chuunin exams, to become a ninja. You three have no chance of ever passing the Chuunin exams with your attitudes.

"Amaya," He turned to her, making her stiffen, "You're a good leader. You're smart and clever. Your stealth is cunning. However, you worry too much and you are much too curious. You'll end up getting your nose into business that'll get you killed." Amaya flinched, clasping her hands tightly behind her back. Ito looked at Ninigi, who glared at him.

"Ninigi. Your determination is greatly admired and the speed of your hand signs is intangible. You're strong and eager to help, BUT you lack control and, quite frankly, loyalty. Rules and regulations are just a game to you and you don't play by them at all, which is stupid." Ninigi clenched his fists tightly, turning his knuckles white and he bit into his lip to keep from shouting back in protest. Ito turned and looked down at Kosuke in his arms. The Genin was still unconscious, murmuring nothings as he slept.

"And Kosuke," Ito muttered, more to himself, "You're strong, you're smart, a perfect hero, but you don't care about anyone, but yourself. Or at least, that's what you make it out to believe. And you're too risky." He looked up at Ninigi and Amaya, who both looked down at their feet, ashamed and angry.

"The Chuunin exams," He snorted, then started to walk, "If I wanted to become the laughing stock of Konohagakure, then I'd let you join the Chuunin exams, but that's not the case. We're leaving. Now. And when we get back, go home and rest up. I'll see you in the morning." With that, they were gone, taking with them the only surviving spy.

**That Night at the Nakamura Home**

"And then he just walked away! Mama, I think sensei hates me." Amaya whined as she walked after her mother in the kitchen of their two story home. Ai set down her baked cookies, turning to face her daughter with a sad smile. She patted Amaya on the head before pulling her into a hug.

"It's all right, honey. Ito-sensei doesn't hate you, he just doesn't want you to get hurt and he thinks being tough on you guys will help." She soothed, running her fingers through her daughter's loose mahogany hair.

"He doesn't have to be _that_ mean." Amaya mumbled. Ai smiled, then looked up as the front door shut. An older teenager came in, his hair almost the same color as Amaya's, only slightly darker and styled choppily, longer in back to the nape of his neck and longer in front, some strands hanging over his sky blue eyes. He wore a black jumpsuit, the sleeves and legs baggy, with an open standup collar. His orange headband went around his waist over bandages that wrapped around his torso and waist. An orange shirt poked out from under the jumpsuit with black designs on it. Black stirrups held on his black ninja sandals with orange dots on either side.

"Mom- Oh, Amaya. You're home." He stated. Amaya looked up awkwardly, shifting from foot-to-foot and smiling.

"Welcome home, Takuma! Did you go on a mission?" She asked eagerly, hoping to hear another story. Takuma blinked.

"I thought you were going on a mission, at least, that's what mom said."

"We did and we… Well, it was a success, but Kosuke sort of… Went unconscious."

"That sucks," Takuma deadpanned, although, he didn't look too sad about the news, "You guys were apparently excited for this mission, mom said." Ai nodded, but she was cocking a scolding brow at her son. After all, she knew full well why Takuma didn't care about Kosuke. Takuma hated any boys that got near his younger sister, especially closet perverts like Kosuke.

"Yea," Amaya sighed, not sensing the slight sarcasm in Takuma's comment, "But Ninigi and Ito-sensei said he'd be okay. He just needs to rest up. So, Takuma! Are you gonna tell me how your mission went, huh? Huh? Did you and Harue beat anyone up? How's Fuyumi?" She beamed up at her older brother and he twitched at her puppy dog face before sighing and plopping down at the dinner table. He went on and on while Ai watched with a warm smile. She turned back to finish making the meal when she heard the front door open again. She sighed, drying off her hands and heading into the living room to see her husband coming through the door, a sly smile coming across her face.

Nakamura Hideuki was a tall man with rusty brown swept back hair that stuck up just a little, a long bit touching his shoulder on the right side with his bangs swept down to the middle of his face just over the bridge of his nose. His eyes were shocking, electric blue, matching the bubbly pattern on the high collar white jacket that he wore, hanging to his ankles. He wore a Jounin flak jacket over it with the Konoha symbol on the back. A normal black jumpsuit and knee-high navy ninja boots with shin guards on them finished off his attire. He looked up to see his wife standing there, then grinned a little.

"Ai, good evening. From the sound of babbling in the kitchen, the kids are home?" He asked. Ai pouted a little, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, they are. You were supposed to come home earlier so we could have some alone time." She stated. Hideuki laughed a bit nervously, rubbing the back of his head and shrugging his other shoulder."Sorry, dear. Weighed down with missions, but I'm home now!"

"And so are the kids."

"Yes, you said that." Hideuki replied, then swiftly swept over and put an arm around his wife's waist, holding her close and kissing her firmly on the lips. Ai stared at him, then smirked and kissed back.

"Ew, get a room!" Amaya cried, covering her eyes from the kitchen when she looked up to catch her parents. Takuma smacked his forehead and didn't even bother to look. Hideuki pulled away and walked into the kitchen, holding one of Ai's hands.

"Hey now," He announced, "If you have a boyfriend, I'm not gonna go up to you while you're kissing him and say '_ewwwww'_." He changed his voice to make it squeakier, mocking his daughter, who huffed and stuck her tongue out at him. He smiled and reached out, giving her cheek a pinch before ruffling Takuma's hair.

"Dad, I'm not a kid anymore!" Takuma protested, blushing as he waved his father's hand away. Hideuki shrugged.

"You are to me. Believe me, when you're old and decrepit, you'll be begging me to do this again." He assured.

"We'll see." Takuma snorted, earning him another pat on the head and making him scowl. Amaya snickered, only to have Takuma grab her and start tickling her. She yelped and squirmed, flailing.

"Ah! No! Don't! TAKUMA!"

"Come here, you! Who's laughing now?"

"NO!" Amaya laughed and wailed at the same time, scrambling off her seat and bolting from the room. Takuma grinned and ran after her. Ai and Hideuki laughed.

"I'm glad Amaya's in a better mood," Ai sighed, getting a quizzical look from her husband, "She looked pretty upset when she came back from her mission. Ito-sensei seems to be giving them the tough love methods and Kosuke was unconscious when she left him." Hideuki sighed, nodding.

"I heard Ito-sensei was harsh, but he has his reasons." He admitted. Ai looked at him curiously, but Hideuki changed the subject with a beam and placing a finger on her nose.

"Oh, look. While the children are away, the adults will play."

"Hideuki, you're terrible."

"I love you too, darling."

**The Sujiyama Household**

"So, that's all your mission was, hm? A simple excuse for that Jounin to mock you. I perfect example of humility. You need to learn more of that, Ninigi." Sujiyama Fuyuki muttered sternly, his muscular arms folded over his chest. He wore the uniform of an Anbu Captain, his wolf mask hanging off the side of his neck. His white hair was slicked back and his pinkish red eyes were locked on his son. Beside him, his copper-haired wife, Suiko, frowned, her deep sea blue eyes narrowed in disappointment. She too wore a formal Anbu lieutenant's uniform.

"I'm sorry." Ninigi mumbled, then flinched as a whip hit the desk that was between his parents and himself.

"You are NOT to mumble when speaking," Fuyuki snapped, lowering the horsewhip to the desk top again, "Now speak correctly or not at all."I'm sorry for disappointing you!" Ninigi spoke up, trying to keep the anger back in his voice. Fuyuki narrowed his eyes in disgust, the corner of his lip curling.

"You better lose your sarcastic attitude, boy, or you'll surely end up just like Fukuo, or is that what you want? Abandonment?" He demanded. Ninigi shook his head, clenching his fists on his knees.

"No."

"Excuse me?"

"No, sir!"

"That's what I thought. Now, don't waste your time here. For your failure, you are to go outside and train without dinner. The rest of you, wash up for your meal. Dismissed."

Ninigi rose to his feet, turning around as the sliding door opened to let in some light from the candles outside the darkened room. His oldest brother, Zinan, walked out of the room, his snow white hair almost glowing in the dim light, pulled back into a spiky ponytail with bangs framing his face. His midnight blue eyes were narrowed in annoyance, a tick in his jaw. He wore the Jounin vest with a sleeveless navy muscle shirt, bandages from his elbows to his wrists where black gloves finished off his top layer. He wore pants to his knees with bandages down to navy stirrups that held on a pair of clogs, his headband born proudly on his forehead.

Next came Harue, silver hair cut short just under his ears choppily, save for a shoulder length lock on the right side accompanied by a much longer strand to his waist. His eyes were as dark blue as Zinan's. He wore a warm white jacket with gray, black tipped fur on the hood and sleeves with puffball drawstrings. The jacket was partially zipped to reveal a black turtleneck, matching a pair of navy shorts and ninja sandals; his headband set tilted to the left, downwards on his head.

Finally, Ninigi followed his oldest brothers out, shutting the sliding door quietly behind him. He glared at them, his fists clenched. He looked up, following his brothers down the hallway, their bare feet thumping on the wooden floor.

No one spoke. No one dared to speak. Speaking would only cause more drama. Ninigi wanted to so badly to start screaming at his brothers. Why hadn't they spoken up for him or even try to defend him? He was nothing like Fukuo, his third oldest brother. The slate-haired teenager was rude and snotty, extremely selfish.

"_You lack control and, quite frankly, loyalty. Rules and regulations are just a game to you and you don't play by them at all, which is stupid."_

Ninigi wanted to punch something, anything. He watched his brothers depart to their rooms before he went outside to the training field in their backyard. He looked up as a full moon glared down at him, as if scorning him too. The silvery stars glittered in wisps across the midnight sky. Ninigi reached into his weapons pouch and pulled out a kunai, looking at the practice dummies with targets drawn on them. He gritted his teeth, then flung the kunai forward. It missed the target and shot into the trees behind it.

"Ow!" A voice snarled. Ninigi blinked, then glared, taking out another kunai.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" He ordered, coming closer up, but stopping when he saw Fukuo coming out of the trees, pulling the kunai away from his arm where an angry red gash grew. Fukuo's slate hair was disheveled, sticking up in random places while his magenta eyes were narrowed in irritation. He wore a dark violet loose vest to his knees and a long sleeves periwinkle shirt underneath with sleeves far past his fingertips, the collar of it folded like a yukata. He wore dark violet pants that were bandaged from the knees down to ninja shoes with no heels. He wore his headband around his waist tightly.

"Fukuo," Ninigi hissed angrily, snatching his kunai away, "Are you stupid? You were disowned, which means you can't be dragging your carcass onto the property!" Fukuo scowled at him.

"Shut up, Ninigi. You're almost in the same position as I am. I just came because I was hungry and I ran out of money."

"You were playing poker, weren't you? I'm not sharing any of mine if that's what you want." Ninigi growled, turning to leave, but Fukuo started walking along side him.

"Come on, you little brat. Just give me… Okay, let's see you just give me about 600 ryo and we call it good?" Fukuo asked. Ninigi blinked, then whipped around to glare at him.

"No way! I need to survive too! In case you haven't noticed, I'm not getting paid as good for having stupid missions and those military losers are making me pay rent now!" He snarled. Fukuo rolled his eyes, then reached out and grabbed the front of Ninigi's jacket, jerking him forward. Ninigi winced, then glared up at his brother.

"That's because you're too much of a fucking coward to stand up to them," Fukuo mocked, "You're scared of the old man's horsewhip and that hag's beatings."

"Funny you should say that since you cried the most every time!" Ninigi snapped. Fukuo's eyes sharpened like daggers as a cruel smirk spread across his face.

"You little brat. Let's see how the parental units will like one of the walls of their precious estate being torn down." While still gripping the front of Ninigi's shirt, he used his free hand to make quick hand signs before thrusting his hand out toward the nearest wall of the estate. Ninigi's eyes widened.

"Fukuo! Fukuo, don't you dare-"

_CRASH!_

The fragile wall was busted open by stalagmites before they faded into the ground as lumps. Ninigi gaped at the ruins and looked at Fukuo, who stepped back with Ninigi's pocketbook in hand.

"Fukuo! Y-You bastard! You can't…!"

"Sure I can. I just did." Fukuo responded, taking out a couple bills before tossing the pocketbook at Ninigi, who just let it bounce off his chest to the ground. Ninigi gritted his teeth and lunged forward to attack him, but Fukuo sidestepped him and swung his fist around into his brother's gut. Ninigi gasped in pain and fell to his knees, wincing.

"See ya later, baby brother. Good luck with the parents!" Fukuo laughed, waving the money at his brother before bolting off into the trees, disappearing into the night. Ninigi managed to get to his feet and went to shout after him, but he heard a loud voice.

"Sujiyama Ninigi!" Fuyuki's voice bellowed. Ninigi stiffened, his eyes going wide at the sound. He could swear he could faintly hear Fukuo's laughter deep in the woods before he slowly turned around.

"Come here." Suiko commanded sternly, her eyes sharp with rage. Ninigi was still for a moment, which didn't help the situation anymore.

"Come here!" Suiko ordered, stomping her foot and pointing to the spot in front of her, like she was talking to a dog. Ninigi winced and approached. Harue was there, peering through the gaping hole in the wall with a cocked brow. Zinan stood beside him with a slight frown, his expression basically stoic.

Ninigi stood in front of his mother, his jaw clenched and his eyes on the ground. He didn't dare look up, almost afraid to meet those dark, judgmental eyes.

"Do you think you're funny? Ruining a home simply because you were scolded? If you wish to act like a child, then you will be treated as a child. Ninigi, look at me when I'm talking to you!" Suiko demanded firmly. Ninigi stared the ground for a moment, then lifted his eyes up past his white hair, seeing just what he rather not see at the moment.

Piercing, angry deep blue sea eyes. Like a raging hurricane and glowing with scorn and rage.

_SMACK!_

His mother's hand struck his face harshly, leaving a red print and making his head snap to the side. Ninigi winced, feeling it swell immediately and blood in his mouth, dripping from the corner of his mouth.

"Look at me!" Suiko ordered. Ninigi looked at her, clenching his muscles in case he was to endure more, staring straight at his mother, who glared at him.

"Mother." Zinan stated. Suiko's eyes flashed and locked on her eldest son. Her gaze seemed to soften, but only slightly as she found herself favoring him for being the most mature and most well-mannered. Fuyuki frowned, glancing at his older son as well. Zinan looked right at Ninigi, who stared at him.

"You shouldn't punish him so harshly tonight. He's come back from a rough mission for a Genin and he's surely exhausted. A shinobi needs a certain amount of time to rest before they are to succeed in all other endeavors." He explained calmly. Suiko glanced at Ninigi, then her husband. Fuyuki's eyes were still narrowed before he closed them, waving his hand.

"To bed. Both of you. Suiko, you as well. I will handle Ninigi's punishment." He commanded. Ninigi felt a cold shiver go up his spine as his mother nodded, his brothers moving away as well, probably defeated. They cleared away and his father motioned for him to follow. Ninigi knew what was coming next as he followed his room into the meeting room, where they had been at in the beginning.

The room was still dark, still cold, but the little light that shown through the walls allowed Ninigi to watch his father pick up the horsewhip.

_Damn it… When I get my hands on Fukuo, I'm going to strangle his neck and rip out his damned innards!_ He thought furiously, turning his back and lifting up his jacket and shirt.

_CRACK!_

_CRACK!_

_CRACK!_

_CRACK!_

_CRACK!_

**Kosuke's Apartment**

Kosuke stared up at his ceiling with tired red eyes, his arms folded behind his head. He couldn't help, but enjoy the fact that he could just lay there in only his black boxers without having to worry about someone walking in. However, he hated that he felt like he was the only one in the world breathing. He sat up and swung his legs over the side of his small bed. He rose to his feet and walked out of his room into the kitchen. He pulled out a bucket of chocolate mint ice cream, grabbing a spoon, and an orange book with the picture of two characters running across the front.

He went back into his bed, setting the items on his bed and going to the window. He took the stick to close the blinds, then paused staring out at the street. A couple walked by, smiling at each other happily with their child running along behind them, giggling. Kosuke frowned, gripping the blind shutter tighter.

_Morons. Don't even know that they're lives are pretty much in danger if that dumbass kid is with Orochimaru. Everyone acts so carefree and they don't even know what's going on in the shinobi world. Spies, battles, betrayals. The fear of Akatsuki coming for that Naruto kid… That brat going to Orochimaru… Orochimaru probably wanting to come here. A bunch of idiots._ He thought, then snapped the blinds shut and turned, hopping onto his bed. He popped open the top of the bucket of ice cream, dunked his spoon in and began to eat as he opened the book, his eyes flying across the page.

_Right. Because happily-ever-afters so happen in real life. Losers._

****

**A/N: Well, I guess that mission wasn't as long as I thought it would be, haha. Oh well. I hope it was still good anyway. :) I decided to show what the Genin acted like at home and what their home life was like and whatnot. As you can see, Amaya's family is mostly jokers. Other shinobi like to call Hideuki Konoha's Comic behind his back, so sssh! Don't tell anyone! ;) As for Ninigi, his parents are kind of, totally super strict. xD; Aaand Kosuke lives alone :( Well, thanks for reading and your reviews are greatly appreciated! (Ocs are still being accepted)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yes, another update! This one is kind of long and maybe a little random…**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! Masashi Kishimoto does. I also do not own any of the Ocs within this fan fiction, save for the ones that I already claimed as my own!**

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Chapter Three: **Learning the Truth. Sneak Attack!**

The next day, Team Ito met in the grassy training fields for their teacher. Amaya showed up first with a cheery smile, putting her barrette in. Kosuke showed up next, his hood up and hiding his face from the morning sunlight. Finally, Ninigi showed up, wincing every time he took a step.

"Are you all right, Ninigi?" Amaya asked, mentally cursing herself for asking. She could hear Ito's words in her head, scolding her for being so worrisome and curious. Ninigi just nodded stiffly as Kosuke sent him a curious glance, then sighed.

"He's such a jerk, telling us to meet him here early and not already being here." Kosuke muttered, folding his arms over his chest. Amaya shrugged, clasping her hands behind her back.

"At least he's not like Kakashi-sensei," She pointed out, getting weird looks from her teammates, making her blush a little, "I mean, I've heard about him. From Sakura, that he's always, like, three hours late."

"If Ito does that, I'm out of here." Kosuke declared with a scowl. Amaya sighed, merely shaking her head. Ninigi said nothing, just stood there stiffly, frowning a little and trying his best not to wince. His back was throbbing with pain and he just wanted to go back home and sleep, lying on his face and suffocating himself with a pillow. The thought was little comfort as Ito appeared in a puff of smoke in front of them.

"Good, you're all here," Ito stated, casually as he appeared with a fist on his hip and the other holding a list, "We have some missions to do. First off, we'll be gardening for Lady Nisaiko. Then we're going to head over to the Hokage's residence and clean up their main lobby. Wash recent graffiti off the Hokage Faces. And finally, we get to look for Inuzuka Hana's puppy, apparently he ran off last night and there's been no sign of him since. Anyway, that's our mission load. Congratulations." Kosuke glared at him, but said nothing as he pulled his hood down more over his face. Ninigi gritted his teeth and Amaya just looked away without a word. Ito raised an eyebrow as he folded the paper up and placed it in his vest.

"I'm surprised. No complaining? No 'sensei, when are we going to get a real mission'?" He asked, personally rather perplexed. Kosuke snorted.

"Don't egg us on." He retorted.

"If we have to do it to become Chuunin, then we'll do it." Amaya stated with a nod, putting her hands on her hips and looking up at her sensei, who had the sudden urge to smile, but he fought it back by looking at Ninigi, who merely nodded stiffly in response.

_Odd. Ninigi is usually so talkative. How curious._ Ito thought, then slowly bobbed his head up and down in a nod before he started forward.

"Then let's go. Nisaiko is waiting for us." He said, glancing over his shoulder. He stopped walking as Kosuke and Amaya moved forward. He noticed a small stain of blood on the back of Ninigi's jacket, making him quirk a brow in curiosity. Ninigi turned around to follow. Ito let them walk ahead, his eyes watching Ninigi closely.

The boy walked normally now, his head turned as he scowled and argued as usual with Kosuke while Amaya complained for them to quite being immature. But there was still the blood stain on the back of his attire and what looked like a scratch peeping past his green jacket.

He still pondered after they arrived at the young, pregnant woman's house. The red-haired woman smiled thankfully at Ito as he introduced his Genin.

"They seem like such nice children." Nisaiko murmured, resting her hand on her round belly. Ito watched his Genin get to work, weeding the garden, then looked back at Nisaiko.

"I'm not much for children." He responded almost robotically. Nisaiko looked up at him a bit sadly.

"I'm sorry, Ito-sensei… I heard about your loss. Your wife-"

"It's really none of your concern," Ito cut her off sharply, making her sigh, "It's over and done with, years old gossip."

"It was never gossip. I was good friends with Hachiko." Nisaiko muttered. Ito frowned a little.

"I know."

"You know, sometimes it's good to talk about the good memories you held with her, Ito, you, her, and the baby."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"All right… I don't want to make you angry, but please consider what I said. You have some brilliant students and I'm sure they'd love to see the soft side of you." Nisaiko said softly, then reached up, brushing Ito's hair away from his gauzed over eye socket. Ito stared at her flatly with his single gold eye before Nisaiko stood on her tiptoes, kissing him on the cheek before she waved and disappeared into her cottage. Ito frowned deeply, then looked away as he disappeared, reappearing on a tree branch that over looked the garden. He took out a book, but didn't bother reading it. Now his thought process was running and he was watching his students work.

_Women are so obnoxious sometimes. Always pressing to know more about you and how you're doing and what you're doing. When, where, how, why? I don't see why she'd ask me now, after all these years. Stupid. Besides, I have bigger problems to attend to._ He thought, his eyes landing on Ninigi just in time. Ninigi stumbled with a crate of plants and hit his knees on the ground, dropping them and gasping.

"Ninigi!" Amaya exclaimed and threw down her tools, getting to her feet. Kosuke frowned, standing up and brushing the dirt off him, turning to face the scene. Ninigi managed to catch his breath.

"Nothing, nothing. I'm just still kind of sore from yesterday, the mission, you know?" He asked, glancing at Amaya, who frowned a little.

"You mean, you didn't go to the hospital?" She asked. Ninigi shifted a little, snorting.

"I don't need a hospital. I'm fine, seriously! Jeez, no need to worry or anything." He muttered flatly and got back to his legs shakily. Amaya watched him for a moment before her eyes flicked up at Ito, who seemed to be pretending to read his book, but Amaya didn't notice that. Her eyes widened as she remembered Ito telling her to quick worrying, so Amaya nodded and smiled, laughing a little as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Of course, right! I'm just being stupid, sorry, Ninigi. Come on, let's get back to work, we've got way too many missions." She stated. Ninigi blinked, then nodded and bent over, wincing and biting into his lip as he heaved the crate of plants up. Ito's eyes flickered back to attention in time to see more blood soaking through Ninigi's jacket.

_All right. Now I know something is up. Time to surprise him._ He thought, then snapped his book shut and disappeared in a poof of smoke. Kosuke and Amaya looked up in confusion, Ninigi frowning as he glanced over his shoulder toward the empty tree branch, looking forward and yipping in surprise, dropping the crate. Ito frowned.

"Ninigi, I wanted to talk to you about something." He stated. Ninigi stared up at him, his icy blue eyes wide. For a moment, Ito thought he looked like a stunned puppy, but he knew better that than. Ninigi was a wild animal.

After a moment of staring, Ninigi finally followed Ito inside the house. Ito walked past the kitchen, earning an odd look from Nisaiko, who sat at the table. He didn't pay her any mind, nor the fact that she got up to follow, but at a distance. Ito pointed to the bathroom and Ninigi stared at him.

"What? What did I do?" He asked, confused. Ito frowned.

"Just go. There's another flaw you have. You're nosy." He commanded. Ninigi said nothing and went into the bathroom, looking at his feet and gritting his teeth in annoyance as Ito followed him in. The door closed behind them and Nisaiko came up to the door, pressing her ear to it the best she could, a hand on her belly.

"Take off your shirt." Ito ordered as he pulled the gloves off his hands. Ninigi stared at him, his jaw dropping before he snapped his mouth shut, blushing a little.

"What the heck? Look, Ito-sensei, I don't know what you have in your head, but I'm not going to let you touch me or anything weird like that."

"Don't be stupid, I'm not going to hurt you or anything, unless you don't take off your shirt and jacket like I'm telling you." Ito added and cracked his knuckles for emphasis, cocking a brow at Ninigi, who stiffened. After a second, Ninigi reluctantly dropped his jacket off and pulled off his mesh shirt, dropping them to the floor. He looked down and his eyes widened, but before he could come up with an excuse for the blood on his clothes, Ito reached out and grabbed him by the shoulders, spinning him around and forcing him to a wall.

"Ow!" Ninigi protested, then gasped as he felt an icy cold sensation on his back and the raw marks.

Ito dabbed cool ointment on the gash that ran from Ninigi's neck all the way to the middle of his back, his expression calm and flat. Ninigi cringed and squeezed his eyes shut, gasping every so often past gritted teeth.

"Quit it," Ito scolded in annoyance as he dabbed on some more ointment before capping it and stepping back, "You're fine. The ointment should soothe your pain away long enough for you to get back to work, then you can go to the hospital. You need stitches for one of those gashes, it's deep." He pulled his gloves back on at the sink.

Ninigi blinked, then looked up as he had fallen to his knees, his eyes locking his sensei as he tugged on his gloves. He noticed a good X-marked scar on the top of Ito's left palm before the black gloves covered them.

"Sensei…" He found himself mumbling. Ito glanced at him, his expression bored as he cocked a brow.

"What? Get that look off your face, put your clothes back on. Those two are going to be suspicious as to why you haven't come back. They might've thought I'd killed you." He stated as he put the ointment away. Ninigi blinked, then nodded quickly as he snatched up his clothes, hurriedly putting it on. To his surprise, the marks weren't as sore as before.

He bolted out the door while Ito watched him go, then started out, only to see Nisaiko leaning against the doorframe, looking at him.

"You've still got some fatherly essence in you." Nisaiko sighed. Ito kept his gold eye watching Ninigi disappear outside, laughing nervously when Amaya and Kosuke questioned his disappearance with their sensei. He shrugged lightly, holding his hand out to Nisaiko, who blinked.

"I believe you owe us some payment for the mission." He stated. Nisaiko cocked a brow, reaching into her apron pocket, fishing out some coins and bills, handing them to the Jounin, who counted it up and tucked it into his vest.

"And you're still greedy." She muttered. Ito tried to smile, but it failed, so he merely shrugged again before heading outside, calling out to his team. They looked up and nodded eagerly, cleaning up the tools and plants. Nisaiko watched them go, smiling lightly and waving a hand.

"Good-bye and good luck on your other missions!" She called, using a free hand to cup over her mouth. The Genin waved back, although, Kosuke just pulled his hood down more, crinkling up his nose.

"What's that face for?" Ito asked as they walked away. Kosuke huffed and seemed to be hiding a blush in the shadows his hood made as he folded his arms over his chest.

"She's weird. What kind of woman would flaunt herself when her belly is about as round as a pumpkin?" He grumbled. Ito didn't look at him, raising an eyebrow curiously. Amaya blinked, then elbowed him in the arm as they walked, a pinched look on her face.

"Hey, that's not nice, Kosuke. You know, there's a kid in that belly of hers." She stated with a little huff, puffing out one of her cheeks and folding her arms tightly over her chest. Kosuke dropped his arms and cocked a brow at her.

"Yea, but still. Pregnant women are so…" He didn't even know what to say. The more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable it made him. He liked women, sure he did. What sort of man didn't? Unless they were into that sort of thing, but he wasn't. Last he checked. That thought made him even more uncomfortable and he just pursed his lips.

End of conversation.

Upon arriving at the Hokage's residence, Shizune was there to give them their needed supplies, TonTon waddling around her feet. Ito gestured for his Genin to begin. They glared, but got to work. Shizune watched from the archway that led to the hall to the Hokage's office, Ito beside her, looking at a list of their missions.

"I heard you stopped by Nisaiko's cottage. How did that go?" Shizune asked casually, cutting into the awkward silence between them. Ito kept watching, the list in one hand while the other was stuffed into his pocket.

"Hm? Oh, fine. Not much excitement with a married pregnant woman."

"Ito-sensei."

"What?"

"You're terrible sometimes."

"I get that a lot."

"I'll bet you do." Shizune muttered with a light scowl, folding her arms over her chest as TonTon oinked in disapproval, sitting on Shizune's other side to avoid Ito, who tried not to smirk. They stood in silence a bit longer

Meanwhile, Kosuke scrubbed the floor angrily, soap bubbles collecting over his hand and attempting to cling to his cloak, which he refused to remove.

"Kosuke, just take off your cloak," Amaya sighed, reaching over to drop the hood, "There's no one else here, just Ninigi, Ito-sensei, Shizune, and I. And we already know about the scar."

"I'm fine- Stupid damned bubbles! I hate water! And I hate soap!"

"Ew, no wonder you stink, you never bathe." Ninigi snorted. Kosuke whipped around to glare at him, then threw the soapy sponge at Ninigi's face. Ninigi yelped and threw it across the room, rubbing the soap out of his eyes.

"Ow, you jerk! Agh, now I have soap in my eyes!"

"GOOD!"

"You guys!" Amaya complained and got up to get the sponge, but stopped when Ito glanced at her, shaking his head and pointing to Kosuke.

"He threw it first. Kosuke, go get it." Their sensei commanded. Kosuke twitched, glaring at him angrily and shot to his feet, grumbling as he walked over to the entrance to the building, bending over and scooping up the sponge when a shadow fell over him. He blinked and stood upright, his red eyes almost flaring with curiosity.

A girl maybe a year older than him was standing in the doorway, her messy dark brown hair loose to her waist, her bangs almost covering her bronze eyes. She wore a dark red sleeveless shirt, a circlet band covering her upper right arm and shoulder. A pair of black shorts with ninja boots finished off her attire along with what seemed to be a hock stick strapped to her back and a small bag fastened just above her hip. She also seemed to be holding a notepad and pen in her hands.

Kosuke couldn't even hear Amaya or Ninigi yelling at him for being a jerk as he stared at her. _Holy crap, she's pretty. Like, seriously. Wow! I wonder what her name is. Her headband says she's from Iwagakure. Are all girls from Iwagakure this good looking?_ He thought, then finally blinked.

"Sorry." He stated, then frowned trying to regain his composure by just staring at her for a moment before she held up the notepad in her hand. He frowned some more, staring at the notepad. In fancy handwriting was: _I am Inagi Mayu of Iwagakure. I am here to see Lady Tsunade._

"Lady Tsunade?" Amaya asked, making Kosuke jump and glare at her as she had quickly and rather comically appeared right behind him. Mayu lowered the notepad, frowning at them. Ninigi huffed, standing up and folding his arms over his chest. Shizune blinked and walked over, now holding TonTon in her arms.

"Did you say Inagi?" He asked. Mayu looked up at her and nodded, holding up the notepad again and tapping a finger on the message. Shizune's eyebrows tipped up a bit in an expression of sympathy.

"Of course, we've been expecting you after the Tsuchikage messaged us." She said with a nod. Mayu flipped to another page in the notepad, scribbling something down. She made a little face, glancing up as the three Genin peered over to see what she was writing.

"Don't be rude, brats." Ito stated, giving his students a tug on the backs of their clothing to keep them away. Mayu looked at him, then back down at her writing before holding it up. Shizune leaned in to read it, tilting her head while TonTon mimicked her.

"She says, 'I'm here to have an appointment with Lady Tsunade about the condition.'," She read, then nodded, "Understood. Follow me, please." She bowed and led Mayu from the room. Mayu merely glanced over her shoulder back at the Genin team, then went on walking.

"She's pretty," Amaya exclaimed, "But how come she used that to talk instead of actually talking?" She looked at Ito, who cocked a brow at her. Amaya blinked, then gasped and clamped her hands over her mouth, then laughed nervously, lowering them.

"I mean, it's none of my business! Haha, oops!" She shrugged.

"She's from Iwagakure. She came all the way here by herself?" Ninigi asked, perplexed as he reached up to scratch the side of his head in confusion. Kosuke just frowned, tugging the hood of his cloak over his face.

"It's none of your business, kids. Get back to work." Ito commanded. Ninigi and Amaya groaned, but trudged back to their corners, getting the sponges and buckets of soapy water back. Kosuke started to move for a bucket, then changed his course and headed instead toward the hallway that Shizune took Mayu down. Ito glanced up, his arms folded over his chest.

"Kosuke, where do you think you're going?" He asked. Kosuke scowled at him.

"I need to take a piss. I have to ask you for permission?" He demanded. Ito nodded, shrugging.

"Who knows? You might be planning to run off after that girl," He drawled, noticing the slight pink that shot across Kosuke's shadowed face along with a twitching scowl, "I know what you boys are like. I was one once too, you know. Leave her to her business and do your own." Ninigi and Amaya snickered nearby before Ito turned on them.

With that, Kosuke whipped around on his heel, storming up the hallway with his fists clenched at his sides. He was fuming, he was angry, and highly annoyed and oh so embarrassed. He scowled to himself and finally stopped, flinging his hood back off his head and looking out a nearby window.

_Stupid Jounin! I swear, as soon as I become a Chuunin, I'm taking a different study just so I can get away from him._ He thought in annoyance, then heard some talking in a room down the hallway. He frowned a little and walked a little further until he was standing outside the office of the Hokage, the door closed tightly. Kosuke pressed his ear to it, averting his eyes as he picked up muffled talking.

"… Jutsu, huh? Well, I'll have to look into it. In the mean time, I suggest you stay here in the building. We have a guest room. I'll be needing a check up for…" Lady Tsunade's voice seemed to fade. Kosuke tilted his head, trying to lean in for more when a strong grip caught the back of his cloak by his hood, making him yelp, but a hand covered his mouth firmly.

"You're a nosy brat, Kosuke." Ito stated as he held Kosuke against him, a hand over his mouth and an arm around the Genin's neck. Kosuke winced and snarled cursed into his sensei's gloved palm. Ito held his hand over his mouth, glancing up at the doors with a narrowed gold eye before he heaved Kosuke up. Kosuke gasped in surprise before a scream of rage ripped out his throat.

"You bastard! Put me down! Let go of me!" He yelled as he found himself dangling over Ito's shoulder. Ito rolled his eye, sighing.

"So much for stealth. Sorry, Lady Tsunade." He told the door, then headed down the hallway as Kosuke writhed and thrashed on his shoulder, slamming his fists into Ito's muscular back to no avail. Ninigi and Amaya blinked at the shouting and sat up on their knees, turning toward the archway to see Ito enter with Kosuke over his shoulder. Amaya clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle while the corner of Ninigi's lips twitched before he burst into laughter.

"Shut up! Shut up," Kosuke yelled, trying to kick Ito in the face, "Argh, put me down, you bastard! I'll kill you for this, I will!"

"I'm sure you will," Ito replied calmly, then swung Kosuke down to the floor, making the Genin yelp and wince, "Now, get back to work." He picked up a wet sponge and dropped it down on Kosuke's face. Kosuke flinched, then threw the sponge across the floor, glaring up at the Jounin, who stood over him with crossed arms.

Oh, how he wanted to punch that mellow look right off the man's face, rip it off even, but even Kosuke knew that he couldn't mess with a highly skilled Jounin. He scowled, clenching his fists and instead took his anger out on the soapy bucket nearby, punching it right over and denting it in. The water splattered everywhere. Amaya yelped, leaping to her feet to avoid getting soaked while Ninigi was already on his feet, glaring at his teammate.

"Well," Ito mused, glancing at the mess, then back at Kosuke's angry red eyes, "Looks like you really like cleaning this place… Ninigi, Amaya, you can put your sponges down and go to the next mission of washing the graffiti off the Hokage Faces while Kosuke here cleans the entire lobby. Alone." Kosuke continued to glare at Ito. Amaya blinked and shifted from foot to foot a bit nervously, clasping her hands behind her back.

"Er, sensei, that's a little harsh. Ninigi and I don't mind helping him clean. Right, Ninigi?" She elbowed Ninigi, who yelped a 'yup' as he was snapped out of his staring at Kosuke. Ito shook his head, then thrust a finger to point out the door.

"I don't care if you don't mind it. Amaya, you're sweet, that's good, but you need to understand that being nice isn't the way of a shinobi. If your enemy needed help slaughtering the village, would you help them because it's 'nice'?" He asked sternly, locking his single, critical gold eye on his female Genin, who stiffened. Amaya could feel the faint lump in her throat and stinging in her eyes, but she just nodded quickly and took Ninigi by the elbow. Ninigi frowned, but let Amaya drag him out of the building.

"Are you okay?" He asked once they left the building. Amaya nodded stiffly, reaching up and wiping at her eyes vigorously.

"Of course, I'm okay! Sensei's right, but I can't help it." She sighed. Ninigi cocked his head, his white hair falling over his face as he crinkled up his nose.

"What do you mean?" He asked. Amaya looked at him with a little frown, fiddling with her hands before looking down at them.

"Being nice, I guess. I didn't think I was so nice that I'd do something like help an enemy."

"What? No way! You wouldn't help an enemy, Amaya. You're nice, but you know when to be strong. Sensei's just mad because Kosuke was acting like a baby."

"Well, maybe not help the enemy, but I worry too much, don't I? Like back at the garden with you and sensei. And just a minute ago with Kosuke." She mumbled. Ninigi blinked, then shrugged.

"We're your friends. It's only natural for you to worry about your friends. I mean, if you were in trouble or something, I'd wanna help you too! I wouldn't let anyone get in my way. That's what friends are for, Amaya." He replied, giving her a small smile with a dimple in his left cheek. Amaya blinked and stared at him, then smiled back. She threw her arms around his neck, making him jump a little in surprise before relaxing.

"You're a great friend, Ninigi! I'm glad we're on the same team because I don't know what I'd do without you!" She exclaimed, pulling back and grinning at him. Ninigi tried not to blush as he smiled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Aha, thanks, you too, Amaya."

"Come on, we have a mission to complete!"

Inside, Ito leaned on the frame of the archway, watching Kosuke scrubbing the floors vigorously, slopping soapy water all over the tiles. He could practically see the hatred radiating off Kosuke as he had been forced to take off his cloak to move faster. The black yukata styled cloak hung over Ito's arm, far away from its owner.

Soap had climbed up Kosuke's bare arms, popping in sudsy forms. He wore nothing on his torso, but bandages up to his armpits and down to his gray billowy pants. Racing in a jagged path from the top of his left shoulder, swirling around to the center of his bare palm, a deep, angry scar had marked its way onto Kosuke's smooth creamy skin.

_It's still there_, Ito thought, narrowed his gold eye as he watched the scar ripple over Kosuke's tightened, lean teenaged muscles, _the scar. No one knows how it got there, not even Kosuke himself. Although, I have a few hunches. Kosuke was born at the wrong time in the shinobi world, what with the shinobi war just subsiding, the oddness in the Uchiha Clan, and the Nine-Tailed Fox attacking. No one even knows what clan he's from, if any._

"All right, I'm finished." Kosuke snapped, throwing the sponge down into the bucket as he stood up, trying not to slip on the clean, shiny floors. Ito scanned them, then looked at Kosuke, who clenched his fists in annoyance, glaring at him.

"Good job. Here's your cloak back. You can go home. Ninigi and Amaya are probably already done with their missions since that took so long. It's almost sunset." He added, gesturing outside. Kosuke snapped his head, staring out the window before scowling, approaching his sensei, who threw the cloak at him. The cloak landed on Kosuke's head and he snatched it off, jerking it on and storming out the doors.

Ito watched him go, pushing off the archway frame and turning to go, but stopped when he found himself looking down at the Iwagakure kunoichi, her bronze eyes staring up at him, her lips tilted in a frown. She held her notepad in her hand, the pen in the other. She held up the notepad and Ito's eye scanned it.

_So, you're the Kuroshiyo Ito that I've heard about from the Jounin in my village._

Ito frowned a bit, raising an eyebrow and looking at her. She lowered the notepad, bringing up the pen and scribbling some more before holding it back up.

_You're a strict teacher._

"Thanks, I think." Ito added dryly, then reached up to adjust the gauze over his eye as he turned to go. Mayu watched him leave, her bronze eyes narrowed a bit in suspicion before she turned around and headed to the guest room.

**Just Outside of Konohagakure**

"You heard the man, get the boy! It should be easy as that!" A woman's shrill laughter spliced the air like a sharp blade, a pair of onyx eyes narrowed in the darkness.

"You're too eager, Daini. Don't rush into things." A boy's voice muttered almost monotone-like, his onyx eyes shifting as he scanned the high walls surrounding the Leaf Village. Jounin and Anbu stalked along the tops, several Chuunin standing guard outside the main gates.

"Sanbanme's got a point." A woman's voice murmured softly from the boy's other side as the moon was revealed behind thick dark clouds.

"Be quiet, Saisho!" The first woman rose to her feet, a fist on her hip. Her plum-colored hair was tied into two long, spiky pigtails, her bangs curling outwards and some curling over her cheeks. A peach colored kimono billowed to her knees with slits cut up the side to show off a pair of violet tights that become stirrups to hold on her black high heeled ninja sandals, a loose violet sash around her waist in a droopy bow and a fishnet shirt finished off her attire.

"The boss said the young one, yes?" The second woman asked as she stood up straight, her long hair tied in a side ponytail the same color as the first woman's. However, she wore a periwinkle kimono with glittered silver swirls waving from the bottom, a midnight sash tied in a knot around her waist with a silver shirt marked with an X and blue leggings that went into bright purple high heeled shoes that wrapped around her ankles. Streaming down from her onyx eyes was a pair of bright purple marks, touching her bottom jaw.

"Yes. His name is Kosuke no Akumu. He's one of the last holders of the Akumu Kekkei Genkai." The boy didn't rise, staying in his crouched position as he studied the great walls, his onyx eyes shifting after every Konoha shinobi that passed by. A blue diamond tattoo was positioned just under his left eye, his faded plum-colored bangs brushing over his face as his long ponytail fluttered behind him in the wind. Moving down, a heart tattooed on his neck. He wore a loose flowing crème yukata with the spade symbol sewn in black on the back, matching his loose pants. A black shirt with the mesh symbol of the club was sewn on the front. On his feet were smooth silk black slippers and around his waist was a belt with square holders, each labeled with kanji.

"Such a lucky brat," Daini scowled as she folded her arms over her chest, heaving up a boot and slamming it down on the branch in front of her and taking on a victory pose, "That Kekkei Genkai is one of my favorite besides the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan and the Hyuuga's Byakugan."

"It's also very dangerous." Saisho murmured as she let her arms dangle at her sides, hidden by her kimono sleeves as she tilted her head. Daini shrugged carelessly before jumping up onto a branch in front of them.

"Who cares? With great power comes great danger and that only makes it more fun!" She exclaimed and broke into a shrill laugh, her normally nasty metallic voice going high-pitched. Saisho glanced at her, her eyes narrowing with a bit of annoyance before she looked back at the wall with a calm expression.

"Should we go in now while it's still dark? He'll be easier to take with us if he's asleep." She said softly, getting on her hunches beside Sanbanme, who blinked, then peeked at her out the corner of his eye.

"I suppose… All right, we're going, but don't cause a ruckus. We're not here to fight a full-scale battle with the likes of Konoha shinobi." He muttered and stood up. Saisho nodded, then looked at Daini, who was grinning, winking and sticking out her tongue.

"Are you looking at me? Aw, come now. I promise to behave!" With that, Daini was off, shooting off at blinding speed, easily becoming lost in the sights of her teammates, who glared after her.

"Let's hurry this up." Sanbanme stated.

"Quite." Saisho agreed and they shot off, outfits billowing in the gentle midnight breeze. They split off, all three heading for different gates. At the east gate, two Chuunin stood with spears in their grips and eyelids heavy with sleep before the sound of a cracking twig made them snap to attention. They whipped around, eyes darting around and spears thrust forward.

"Who's there?" The first one demanded, crouching low and tightening his grip on his spear.

"Show yourself!" The second one barked, her eyes narrowed dangerously. There was the soft crunching sound of heels on gravel before Saisho stepped from the trees, her expression almost sorrowful. The Chuunin didn't back down, however, glaring.

"Who are you? State your name and your purpose." The second one ordered. Saisho's eyes glowed as she stopped a few feet in front of them, her arms at her sides and her head tilted up as if to look down her nose at them.

"My name is Saisho and I am here to kill you." She smiled then, cocking her head sweetly to the side. The Chuunin blinked and didn't waste a second in rushing forward, however, Saisho burst into water as soon as the spears hit her.

"Water clone!" The first one barked, but he had no time to think really as a soft sound began to fill his ears, making him go still. The second one grimaced, dropping her spear and grasping her hands over her ears. The sound of a flute gently rose and fell in a flowing pattern. High, low, low, high, low, low, higher. It hung in the air almost visibly as the first one sank to his knees before falling backwards, his head lolling to the side and his eyes wide open. The second Chuunin grimaced, peering through the blurry darkness to see a ghostly figure moving toward her, playing a flute.

"Damn you…" She managed before she squeezed her eyes shut.

_CRACK-KOOM!_

Blood splattered as the Chuunin's skull exploded. Saisho lowered the flute from her lips, her eyes a bit glittery as if she was retaining tears. She closed them and slowly slid the flute into her kimono before bringing her hands together, her sleeves hiding them. She drifted past the gates calmly, stepping over the bloody mess and petrified Chuunin.

At the west gate, a Jounin and Chuunin stood guard, the masked Chuunin muttering while the Jounin merely chuckled good-naturedly before a high-pitched laugh struck them. They whipped around in alarm as daggers came shooting from the shadowed woods. The Chuunin ducked and dodged, gasping however as a dagger shot right into his left shoulder, causing him to stumble and fall to his knees. The Jounin whipped out a kunai, deflecting the last couple of daggers before looking at his partner.

"Show yourself, coward!" He snarled. The Chuunin at his feet gasped in pain, grabbing at the dagger in his shoulder. The Jounin snapped his attention downwards.

"What's wrong?" He demanded.

"Poison…!" The Chuunin gasped, his skin paling and sweat collecting on his brow as he shivered, squeezing his eyes shut. The Jounin cursed and glanced up before placing a finger on a headset hidden under his flak jacket collar.

"Back up! Attack on-"

_PEWWWW!_

A dagger shot out and slammed through the Jounin's hand, pinning it to the nearest tree trunk, making him howl in agony. He twitched angrily, grabbing at the dagger, but it was dug in deeply, keeping his hand pinned.

"Ahahaha," The shrill laughter went high, then lowered to a metallic voice as Daini stepped from the trees, holding several daggers from strings on all her fingers, "My, my, and you call yourself shinobi? Gotta be faster than that, little ninjas." She winked, flicking out her tongue before she flung the daggers forward. All of them slammed harshly into the Jounin and Chuunin, who were now both pale and gasping for air, sinking to the ground. Daini hummed to herself as she started forward, slowly at first before darting forward at such a speed that she was a blur.

Taking place at the south gate, Sanbanme approached the gates calmly and robotically, making the Jounin at their posts jump to attention, glaring at him.

"State your name and your reasons for being here!" The first one commanded, holding a kunai toward him. Sanbanme stopped, staring at them with lazy eyes before he reached down to his belt, flicking open one of the compartments. The Jounin glared before one of them flung a kunai forward. Sanbanme's eyes flashed and he swung his hand out, catching the kunai by its blade with his bare hand, just an inch from his face. The Jounin stared as Sanbanme slowly lowered it before tossing it aside.

"You should let me answer your question first," Sanbanme responded calmly as he took out a deck of playing cards, "I am Sanbanme of the Third Eye. I am here for the Akumu boy. If you stand in my way, I'll kill you. Back down and I'll spare you."

"Akumu," The second one gasped, making the first one look at him curiously, "He's that kid on Ito-sensei's team. The one lives-"

"Tsukamu, stop!" The first one snapped, waving a hand at him and whipping around to throw another kunai. The weapon hurdled forward and slammed right into a card that Sanbanme whipped out in the blink of an eye. Sanbanme's eyes narrowed and he flung the weapon and card out to the side before he held the stack of cards in one hand. He dealt them quickly before flipping them all into his other palm, holding them up in a fan formation.

"Move or I'll attack." He stated firmly. The Jounin stood their ground, taking out their weapons and their eyes narrowed.

"Tsukamu," The first one ordered, "Run, tell the Hokage! I'll hold him off!"

"What? But, Hisui-"

"NOW, Tsukamu!" Hisui shouted and lunged forward. Tsukamu winced, then spun around and shot off. Sanbanme's eyes flashed and he flung out the cards. They swirled like shuriken, sticking into trees, the ground, and both Jounin. Tsukamu hit the ground, gasping in pain as he clasped his hands over the card dug deeply into his ankle. Hisui grimaced, cards stuck in his torso and legs as he stood shaking.

"Now move or I'll kill you both." Sanbanme commanded.

"We're not going down," Tsukamu snarled at him, tearing the card out and struggling to his feet, "We're Konoha shinobi! Back off or _we'll_ kill _you_!"

"Tsukamu, don't get cocky, he's not just a kid." Hisui scolded, then snapped his head to glare at Sanbanme, who pulled out another deck of cards, shuffling them between his hands, letting them fly through the air before settling nicely back in his pile.

"Listen to your partner," Sanbanme replied, closing his eyes as he continued to shuffle the cards, "You judge me by appearance and that will get you killed…" He started forward for the entrance, thrusting the cards in the air, making a tiger hand sign with his free hand.

"Tsukamu!" Hisui barely got his partner's name out before the cards fluttered around him with a cool breeze. Flashes of hearts, clubs, spades, diamonds swirled around him as countless cards continued to fall.

His eyes glazed over and he slumped to the ground, his eyes still open, but hovering in a trance as Sanbanme walked past both entranced Jounin and into the village before shooting off into smoke, vanishing.

**MORNING**

The village was a stir of excitement as Jounin and Chuunin raced to meet at the Hokage's residence, leaving the Genin behind for the other missions to be done, such as cleaning up the messes at the gates.

The meeting room in the residence was crowded with shinobi as Tsunade easily swept forward to her seat past the village elders, her Hokage uniform billowing before she plopped down in her seat, tipping her hat up a bit to glare at the shinobi. It was all she needed to do to summon silence amongst the murmuring group.

"All right," She said quietly, closing her eyes, "Would anyone like to explain to me… How three brats got into our village last night?" She opened her eyes to glare, her fists clenched on the table. The shinobi shifted uncomfortably, glancing at each other before a familiar silver-haired man held up his hand.

"Yes, Kakashi?" Tsunade asked, cocking a brow. Kakashi wondered for a split second if maybe a sarcastic comment should be made before he shook his head and folded his arms over his chest.

"Three brats is obviously putting it lightly if they could take down two guards at a time, but not necessarily killing them. All the other shinobi from the east and west gates are dead, even the one who fell under the trance at the east gate. His head exploded, just like his partner, but the ones from the south gates are still alive. They're just under a heavy genjutsu."

"And what's that supposed to tell us?" Harue questioned, folding his arms over his chest as he stood at the back of the room. Beside him, Zinan elbowed him, his expression impassive. Harue just huffed. Takuma, standing on Harue's other side, just sighed and shook his head before looking at him.

"It tells us that one of the three doesn't seem to like killing, or at least, saves it for later or doesn't do it if it isn't necessary." He replied quietly. Tsunade looked at Kakashi, who nodded.

"So what? That doesn't tell us how to fight them off." Harue retorted.

"No, but their attacks show their techniques," Zinan said, his deep mature voice surprising some shinobi, "The one who left the Chuunin and Jounin at the south gates uses genjutsu attacks and from the looks of it, he also uses cards as weapons, thrown like shuriken. The medical staff found several of the cards embedded in their bodies."

"And the other two?" Tsunade asked, calmer now as she folded her hands in front of her, leaning over in amusement. She found it highly entertaining that they seemed to be sharing their thoughts aloud.

"The other one uses a poisoned daggers," Zinan answered quietly, "The attacks were swift and precise, so also a user of weaponry and speed. The third one is more complicated as they didn't leave any evidence behind, just the fact that they can cause someone's head to explode. It could be a powerful type of genjutsu or ninjutsu, maybe even a Kekkei Genkai."

"Interesting," Tsunade mused, lowering a hand to drum her fingers on the desk, using the other to tap her chin thoughtfully, "Well, we're obviously dealing with high class criminals, so all Jounin and Anbu Black Ops will be placed to guard the entrances from now on. However, I would also like dispatch teams throughout the village. Search for three suspicious characters. Kill them on sight, unless you can take one of them alive for questioning. They had to have come here for a reason."

"Yes, ma'am." The room responded and the meeting was adjourned, the shinobi departing off in their own directions.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the village, Team Ito was stopping for a lunch break at a familiar shop called DANGODANGO. Amaya hopped up on the stool closest to the chimes, flicking her fingers into them while Kosuke and Ninigi hopped up beside her, yawning.

"Jeez, I'm exhausted," Kosuke grumbled as he tugged on his hood, "We better not have anymore missions. I'm ready for a nap."

"What time did you go to bed?" Ninigi asked with a cocked brow. Kosuke glared at him, folding his arms on the counter.

"Well,_ mom_, I think the clock said something like four?" He suggested. Ninigi scowled and looked in the other direction stubbornly, refusing to argue this time as Amaya gave them warning looks.

"Come on, you two, let's enjoy a good lunch here for once without arguing." She stated with a nod, glancing up when she heard her mother call out to her. Ninigi looked at her for a moment, then sighed and nodded reluctantly.

"All right… Ah, jeez. I think I'm gonna hang out with the guys after this." He muttered, fingering a chopstick from a container. Amaya blinked, cocking her head.

"Guys? Who else do you hang out with?" She asked.

"His mother." Kosuke replied.

"But he said guys."

"Exactly."

"Shut up, Kosuke," Ninigi snapped, although, he didn't know whether to be insulted or maybe just agree with that statement, "I hang out with some of my academy friends, well, we hung out back in the academy. You know, Daisuke, Tsuya, Kazuki, Jiyuu, Kyriu, those guys. You remember them, right?" Amaya blushed a little, her eye twitching.

"I remember them, particularly Daisuke." She muttered dryly, huffing a little as she folded her arms over her chest. Ninigi grinned.

"I take it you've been a victim?" He asked.

"Don't call me a victim! Well, it was… Never mind! I don't wanna talk about it!"

"You know, I've never seen you giggle out of control. Did you?"

"Didn't I just say that I didn't wanna talk about it?"

"What are you two talking about?" Kosuke asked, confused. Ninigi smirked at Amaya, who was puffing out one of her cheeks in a childish pout, before he turned to Kosuke with a cocked brow.

"Oh, that's right, I forgot that you didn't take the classes at the academy… Yagani Daisuke, he's got this weird thing about tickling girls, like, tickling them so bad they freak out and try and get after him for it. He's basically on the top of the 'kill list' for girls, well, other than Master Jiraiya, but he has an age limit. I think it's sixteen."

"That's, uh, awkward." Kosuke muttered, then closed his eyes and turned the other way as Ai approached the counter with three lunch bags, a bright smile on her face.

"Afternoon, kids! How did your morning missions go?" She asked.

"Boring." All three of them answered in a monotone unison. Ai blinked and sweat dropped before smiling, setting the bags down in front of them.

"Aw, don't be like that. Make your missions fun! Turn it into a game and enjoy it! I mean, at least ya get paid, am I right?" She asked, cocking a brow. Amaya blinked, then beamed, thrusting a fist in the air.

"You're right, mom!"

"Of course, I'm right!"

"You're amazing!"

"I know~"

"They remind me almost of Rock Lee and Gai-sensei sometimes." Ninigi muttered under his breath to Kosuke, who smirked. Although, even as Ninigi said it, he could feel his mood lifting a bit more. Ai surely did know how to perk someone up. She was like a ball of sunshine, and it wasn't just the fact that her hair looked like fire and her outfits always consisted of blues, oranges, pinks, and yellows. She just had this glowing aura around her and quite frankly, it was rather attractive.

Ninigi mentally smacked himself for the thought and pulled out a dango stick, shoving it in his mouth and chewing with a deadpan expression. Kosuke glanced at him with a cocked brow of confusion at his behavior before he turned back and ate.

"So, what're the afternoon plans then?" Ai asked as she leaned on the counter on her elbows, her arms crossed. Amaya beamed as she swallowed a dumpling, slamming a fist on the table to emphasis her good mood.

"Ninigi's gonna go hang out with some friends and I think I'm gonna do the same! It's been a long time since I've seen any of my friends!"

"And you, Kosuke?" Ai asked. Kosuke looked at her flatly, chewing and swallowing his food before huffing.

"A nap." He stated. Ai blinked, then raised an eyebrow, the corner of her mouth lifting in a crooked smile.

"Is that so? You don't wanna hang out with Ninigi and his friends?" She asked, but Ninigi made a face and groaned.

"Don't suggest it! Nobody likes him anyway." He added under his breath, making Ai scowl and wag a finger at him.

"Ninigi, that's not very nice."

"Who cares," Kosuke shrugged, making his teammates and Ai look at him curiously, "I prefer to be alone, I don't wanna hang out with a bunch of little kids anyway."

"Who're you calling little?" Ninigi demanded angrily. Kosuke smirked cruelly at him.

"The one who looks like he's still seven-years-old, that's who."

"That's it! I'm going to-"

"Now, now," Ai warned, smacking a hand on the counter between them to make them both jump, "I have a way I deal with children who don't cooperate and I don't think you wanna know how, so I suggest you two behave. Kosuke, if that's your preference, go ahead. I simply meant that sometimes it's good to socialize and make allies. And Ninigi, you can never have enough friends… And it doesn't matter how you look. You could be an old decrepit man and you'd still be adorable. Girls like cute boys, trust me! That's why I married my husband!" She winked and Ninigi blushed a full-body blush, making Amaya giggle and Kosuke roll his eyes.

"Well, thanks for the meal, ma! I'm gonna head out! See you guys later!" Amaya declared and hopped off her seat, giving them a wave. Ninigi and Ai waved back and Kosuke just grumbled as Amaya ran off down the street. She knew exactly where she'd find her friends again, or at least, that's where she figured they'd be. She headed off toward the edge of the training field, nearest the river.

****

**A/N: Yup, I'll start introducing more and more Ocs as this goes along and don't worry, the Chuunin exams will be coming up. Just let the intro arc pass on by. I just randomly made that up off the top of my head just now, though. Haha. So, yea, expect some Ocs popping up! Maybe not ALL of the Ocs, but most of them. But for sure, all the Ocs given to me for this fan fiction will show up by the Chuunin Exam arc and so far, I have three arcs set up for this fan fiction. The Intro arc, the Chuunin Exam arc, and the Kidnapping arc, so you have that to look forward to and also, if you have any ideas that you might wanna throw in my direction, my arms are wide open for them! I love getting ideas from my readers and if you want credit for it, just let me know! Well, I think that's all for my babble O:! Thanks very much for reading, hope the characters are okay, and your reviews are greatly appreciated!**


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